3 Takeaways From Wild’s 5-3 Win Over Predators – The Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild faced another division rival, the Nashville Predators, in their annual New Year’s Eve game on Tuesday evening, Dec. 31, which goes back to before 2020. The opponent hasn’t always been the same, but the Wild have played on New Year’s Eve for quite a while now. Their injury list remained the same as their game against the Ottawa Senators, but the scoring turned up a notch. 

The Wild and Predators got things going with two fights in the first three minutes of the game, and then it was all about scoring for both sides. The Wild got things started, but the Predators pushed back all game, and it finally went in favor of the Wild, and they did this without their captain Jared Spurgeon, who left the game due to a slew-foot early in the second period. In this article we’ll take a look at how the Wild came back and pulled out the win, starting with Rossi and Zuccarello.

Wild’s Rossi & Zuccarello Multi-Point Nights

They may have had to play without their star winger Kirill Kaprizov, but the line of Marco Rossi, Mats Zuccarello, and Matt Boldy found a way to put points on the board with the exception of Boldy. Rossi and Zuccarello have found a lot of chemistry throughout the season. While Boldy compliments them, those two have found their own pace similar to Zuccarello and Kaprizov. 

While Rossi has been noticed for his contributions, he’s also been overlooked for his play away from the puck. He’s been making very smart decisions and working hard to give his team chances without also handing the puck over to opponents. He led the team with two goals, one on the power play and an assist for three points on the night. 

Zuccarello was right alongside Rossi for his goal, and then it flipped as Zuccarello tallied a goal with help from Rossi, and his goal was also on the power play. This was a huge offensive boost the Wild needed, especially from their top line, and hopefully, it continues with Boldy getting in on the action next. 

Wild’s Power Play Wakes Up

After having a dreadful last few weeks with a streaky power play that would be intermittently successful, they had been without a power-play goal in the past five games leading up to their game against the Predators, where they tallied not just one but three goals on the power-play. The top unit was the most successful, with two of the three goals coming from those players but the second unit also got in on the action.