It’s not even autumn, but the Maple Leafs are falling, and it looks bad! Their pitfall against the Minnesota Wild makes it three consecutive losses in a stretch. They now have six regulation losses in the last nine matches. It’s intriguing how the tables have turned. Before the match, the prognosis did not look great for the Minnesota Wild as their star forward, Kirill Kaprizov, was put on injured reserve. It was common knowledge that even Coach John Hynes admitted that Kaprizov was struggling to get through games even when benched. The injury has taken out Kaprizov for at least another four weeks.

So it did seem like the Minnesota Wild had a chance, not with their recent history at least, especially the game against the Utah Hockey Club. The Wild’s side of the scoreboard remained at zilch. But the illusion has shifted. The hockey gods seem to have finally shown some grace to the Minnesota Wild, where everything seemed to perfectly synchronize without missing a beat. The Wild put up some good speed early on in the game; their legs moved faster than their counterparts, the puck bobbled and bounced in their favor, and they were quick on their feet.

The tally was a 3-1 win for the Wild against the Leafs. Coach John Hynes was beyond overjoyed at the Wild’s success. The dream of having a spot at the Stanley Cup this year isn’t dead after all for the Minnesota Wild if they can keep this cohesiveness and momentum, no doubt. Here is what Coach Hynes had to say about his boys after the match when the journalist asked him about the “most Wild-like effort seen in a while”—in his words, that’s “Exactly… kind of what we said after the game. I liked tonight too. I thought all four lines were very effective; the sixteen that played tonight, they were strong. That’s what’s good in that. I think that’s what we’re looking to have.”

More than the game, it’s the energy that the Minnesota Wild displayed throughout the game that set them apart from the Maple Leafs. They were swift, never let the puck out of their sight, and never missed a chance to take a shot. Their offense was even more impeccable. All of the players from the Wild were in their element, something that the Maple Leafs could not recover from even after Nylander’s goal put them back in the game.

A ‘Wild’ win nonetheless

The Minnesota Wild were off to a great start with a goal right off the bat by Jared Spurgeon at 15:35. Right within the first period, Jacob Lauko won a puck battle against Morgan Reilly and passed it straight to Marat Khusnutdinov, who went straight for the open window he saw through Woll’s pads. Thus, the Wild celebrated their second goal, which was purely an output of quick reflex and smart positioning. The third goal that they scored to mark their victory against the Maple Leafs was a simple shot through an unmanned empty net by Marcus Foligno. Before Joseph Woll could realize it, the deed was done.

We haven’t even gotten to the part about the stalwart, Fillip Gustavsson, who went wild with 32 saves for the Wild. William Nylander made a fast pass to the net from under Gustavsson and made it to the scoreboard for the Maple Leafs. But despite Nylander’s goal, it was just not their day. They lacked the energy and the determination to put up an offense or even defend the Wild’s offense. Post-game, Nylander mentioned Gustavsson’s calm and composed demeanor while blocking shots. He said that despite trying multiple times, he was only able to get one shot through to the net. Nylander and Gustavsson will soon be playing together for Sweden.

The Minnesota Wild are off to Montreal, where they will be playing against the Montreal Canadiens on January 30, 2025. As for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they are off to hit the road to Edmonton next, where they will be playing against the Edmonton Oilers on the 1st of February 2025. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Auston Matthews, looks forward to working on the team dynamics while on the road and establishing their bond better to get out of the rut that they seem to have gotten themselves stuck in.

Tell us, Will the Minnesota Wild continue their winning streak against the Montreal Canadiens? Do let us know in the comments below.