3 Takeaways From the Wild’s Win Over the Blackhawks

“It’s huge for us right, like we’ve had some bad games in that so called slump. I don’t know, it was four games, five games, that happens throughout the year, every team has lost four games. I didn’t think we played bad in some of them, we played bad in some of them and this is a good reset for us, end on a good note, enjoy the holidays and come back refreshed,” said Faber about stopping the losing streak before the break. 

Gustavsson is Back in Goal 

After what felt like much longer than it was, Filip Gustavsson was back in net for the Wild after being out due to a lower-body injury. He was a little rusty in the first few minutes but it didn’t take him long to find his form again as he started making some big saves to keep his team in it. 

The first goal that went past him was a missed shot by Connor Bedard. Bedard recovered enough to half poke through Gustavsson’s five-hole while Gustavsson was prepared for the shot to go higher, and there wasn’t much he could do. The second goal he also couldn’t do much to prevent as he made the initial stop on the first shot and tried to get the rebound but that was also on his defense to have someone there to cover the open side and they didn’t. 

“I thought we played good against Vegas there and had the chance to win that game and those other games; it wasn’t really as you said, how we’ve been playing lately and sometimes you play hard and you try but it just doesn’t work and today I thought we played good and we still could’ve been a little better, maybe get out of our zone a little quicker in that stuff, we got some turnovers on that but it’s a step in the right direction to get back on track,” said Gustavsson about getting back to playing Wild hockey. 

Wild’s Fourth Line Steps Up

While the fourth line didn’t directly score a goal, they were the line on the ice when Spurgeon tallied his goal and were key in making that play happen. Devin Shore has looked strong for the majority of the time he’s been up playing with the Wild, and against the Blackhawks, he really stood out. He recorded his first career assist in a Wild jersey on the Spurgeon goal, and he also made the Wild’s overturned goal possible with his rush into the zone and ability to carry the puck. 

“Yeah, it was a good night. That’s what we’re looking to do as the fourth line every night, create energy, play more down in their end, and I think we’ve been doing a good job of that, creating that identity, tonight more than most for whatever reason, the puck kind of found us in good spots with speed and a little time and space so we were able to make some plays with confidence in which you can kind of stack on some good shifts, it was a good night…,” said Shore about how the fourth line stepped up. 

Wild Head on Break

The Wild and the rest of the NHL will be off for the next three days for the holiday break, and hopefully, they’ll be able to enjoy the time with family and friends. Once they get back, however it’ll have to be back to all business as they’ll face one of their toughest opponents every season in division rival, the Dallas Stars in Dallas. Hopefully, they can continue to build off this win and come back home with a win over the Stars as well.