DETROIT — Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes was so hot, so animated, during a third-period timeout that you kind of wished he was mic’d up.
“I don’t think you want that,” Hynes joked. “Maybe you do.”
But it was a tipping point in Sunday’s game in Detroit — and another key lesson for the playoffs — when Hynes pulled the group together at the bench with 8:46 to go in the third period. The Red Wings, fighting for their playoff lives, had erased a 4-1 Wild lead to tie it up. You could see Hynes yelling, moving his arms in different directions.
The message?
“Don’t panic,” Kirill Kaprizov said. “Play our game.”
“Stay calm,” Brock Faber said.
“Continue to attack,” Hynes said.
The Wild did just that and found a way to win on Kaprizov’s hat-trick-clinching power-play goal with 1:51 to go for a thrilling 5-4 victory at Little Caesars Arena. It was the third straight victory for Minnesota, which pulled to within two points of the Dallas Stars for second place in the Central Division with a head-to-head matchup Thursday in Dallas.
Hynes said he doesn’t remember the team ever losing momentum for that long a stretch, so for them to rebound from it will only help going forward.
“There’s a ton we can take from that, which is positive,” Hynes said. “These are all things over 82 games that you need to go through and take things from so that when you’re in the playoffs, that’s another experience we haven’t been able to talk through, and now we can do it.”
Said Matt Boldy: “Obviously we didn’t really want to be in that situation, but the fact we got in, we stayed calm and stuck with it and found a way to win, that’s the important thing.”
Boldy and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for the Wild. Filip Gustavsson gave up four goals on 22 shots but found a way to close it out. The Wild scored four unanswered goals in the second period to take the 4-1 lead before the Red Wings — vying for the final wild-card spot in the East — rallied back.
“The third period, they obviously had a push like their life depended on it, because it does,” Faber said. “It’s hard to weather at times. I don’t think we played our best. But a win is a win.”
Top stars shine
Here Kaprizov was, with the game on the line on a late power play, winning a huge puck battle along the boards with defenseman Ben Chiarot to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone. Moments later, Boldy darted up around the top of the zone and found Kaprizov with the perfect pass for the game-winning one-timer.
And protecting a one-goal lead in the final minute, with the Red Wings in a six-on-five situation, Kaprizov and Boldy were out there defending, with Boldy coming through with a big block in the final seconds.
“Two big-time players making a big-time play,” Hynes said.
Hynes has said a key down the stretch is both the team and individuals feeling good about their game. And it is really encouraging that Boldy and Kaprizov are on a pretty good roll here.
“When your two best players are doing that, the battle Kirill won to keep the puck alive, and the shot and then the blocked shot by (Boldy) — when your leaders and best players are doing that, that’s a team that’s able to win, a team that’s going to go far when we’re at our best,” Hynes said.
Kaprizov talked the other day about how much fun his healthy competition with Boldy is, the two one-upping each other in the goals race. And it took just 67 seconds for Kaprizov to score his 41st after Boldy notched his early in the first period. Through 77 games, Kaprizov has 43, Boldy 41. Sunday was Kaprizov’s sixth career hat trick.
“He scores then I want to score, I score and he wants to score,” Kaprizov said. “It helps the team. It’s fun for the fans, and for the team.”
Kaprizov, just one week ago in Boston, said he needed to be better. He has four goals and is a plus-5 since.
“I think it’s a little better now,” Kaprizov said. “Stronger on pucks and battles. And keep trying to shoot more pucks and play smart and strong. I think my best game is more like everywhere, get in corners, battles, keep shooting. It feels a little better now.”
Vladimir Tarasenko played for the Red Wings last season in what was a difficult year. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
Remember me?
There’s no sugarcoating that last year was really tough for Vladimir Tarasenko, who struggled with just 11 goals for the Red Wings. It just wasn’t the right fit — so much so that Detroit traded him to Minnesota over the summer for future considerations.
That’s why Tarasenko’s snipe on Sunday had to feel really good, with the veteran winger scoring his 22nd goal of the season.
“I’m more confident on the ice, more coaches’ trust,” Tarasenko said. “Last year was a hard year. My father passed away right before the season. I appreciate my time here (in Detroit), I met a lot of great people not only in hockey but outside of hockey, made some friendships that are still going on. It was nice to see the guys, play well against them and it’s nice to get a win.”
Tarasenko’s line with Yakov Trenin and Danila Yurov was good again for the second straight game. Perhaps that helped cement them as a trio for the playoffs?
“I thought (the line) was good both nights,” Hynes said. “We know that’s a good trio for us. It was nice to see those guys the last couple games play together.”
The Nick Foligno-Michael McCarron-Marcus Foligno trio was also good again. Bobby Brink was scratched for the second straight game, along with Nico Sturm and Robby Fabbri.
Odds and ends
• Hynes said he doesn’t know yet whether Zach Bogosian will play again during the regular season. Bogosian suffered a lower-body injury late in Saturday’s win in Ottawa. Hynes said the veteran defenseman got checked out by doctors again on Sunday and that he’ll know more on Tuesday. Jeff Petry was in the lineup for Bogosian on Sunday and looked rusty at times.
• Ryan Hartman has six goals and four assists over a career-best six-game point streak. This was his third straight multi-point game.
• With his second-period assist, Faber recorded his 51st point (15G, 36A) of the season, tying Quinn Hughes and Ryan Suter (two times) for the most points by a defenseman in a single season.
• With the win, Minnesota improves to 44-21-12 on the season and has reached 100 points for the seventh time in franchise history, and the first time since 2022-23. The Wild required the second-fewest games in franchise history to 100 points in a season (77 GP) behind only 2021-22 (75 GP).
