The Minnesota Wild made big news on Friday night, December 12, when they made a huge trade to get Quinn Hughes in exchange for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Öhgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
There wasn’t much time to celebrate as the Wild had a game to play the next afternoon, Saturday, December 13, against the Ottawa Senators, who were also the Wild and Red Baron. Pizzas girls hockey weekend. There were several clinics where girls of all ages could participate and celebrate the game of girls hockey.
It was the first game of a back-to-back home game and Jesper Wallstedt was back between the pipes. Hughes was unable to make his debut for the Wild yet, but was instead expected to play against the Bruins on Sunday, December 14.
The match started with several chances for both teams. The Wild got the lead in the second, the Senators tied the lead in the third, but the Wild came out on top with less than 30 seconds left. In this article we’ll look at a few things, starting with how rough a game was.
Wild’s fight difficult to get a win
It was a fairly quiet game in the first period, but the Wild jumped up 2-0 in the second. It was not a one-sided game as both teams had chances, but it was also a very intense, hard-fought and gritty game. There were quite a few hits as the Senators are quite a physical team, but the Wild held their ground and answered back.
They did run into some trouble on the penalty kill, as the Senators scored on two of their four chances, but at the very end, the Wild’s penalty kill rebounded to keep the game tied. Their power play also saw some success as one of their three goals was scored with the man advantage.
“Yes, we found a way to win, that was the most important thing. A few ups and downs. The penalty kill came up big at the end, and then incredible play from Jojo (Johansson) and a beautiful shot of Ekkie (Eriksson Ek) to finally find that winner. So they’re a good team, they work hard, their gaps are small, they don’t give you much so the flow of the game is disrupted when teams play like that which makes it difficult and it was a hard-fought game and we were able to find a way to get one more than them,” Boldy said of the team’s hard-fought effort to get the win.
Wild’s bottom six are making noise
While normally all the attention goes to the top two lines, especially in the Wild’s case against the Senators, the third and fourth lines got the attention. Sure, the top two lines had their fair share of chances, but it was the fourth line’s Tyler Pitlick who got the Wild on the board first. He showed why it’s important to crash the net, because you never know when you can tap a shot past the goalkeeper, and that’s exactly what he did.
Pitlick wasn’t the only bottom six forward to score a goal. Ryan Hartman, who was in the middle of the third line, also scored to give his team a two-goal lead at the time. His line had quite a few chances before and after his goal and although they form a third line, they showed speed and aggression in the attacking zone.
“Yes, very happy. I think Pitter’s (Pitlick) comes in and he works hard every night, he plays a strong role. I like it when those guys can be rewarded because they play a thankless role in a team. They come in, they work hard, they bring energy, they play a hard style of game and to be able to contribute I personally think it’s important for them, but I also think for the team that if you can score in different ways and from different people, it always gives you a good feeling chance to win,” said head coach John Hynes when asked about Pitlick’s goal.
Wild’s Wallstedt continues to impress
Jesper Wallstedt’s initial flair has faded a bit, especially with the Hughes trade news, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less impressive to watch. While his last game in net was a bit tough after the team’s loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, December 6, it was also the entire team that was struggling, not just him.
He did not play the next two games, but he came out strong against the Senators. Even lying on his stomach with his leg extended and foot against the pipe, he was able to keep the puck out despite repeated attempts to push his leg over. Although he allowed two goals, he kept his composure and continued to make big saves to keep his team in the match. He also maintained his confidence and jumped into the game when necessary, rather than withdrawing for fear of making a mistake.
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“Yeah, he played really well, I thought. They looked good and had some push-ups at times. I really liked his reaction during the game against Vancouver. It was a bit of a bump in the road for him, but reset, had some practice time and came back, and he was the guy who stood tall for us in key moments of the game tonight,” Hynes said of Wallstedt’s play throughout the game.
The Wild had to fight hard to get this win, but they dug deep and found a way to come out on top even when it seemed like everything was going against them. They got a little frustrated, but stayed calm and got the win. They won’t have long to celebrate as they return to action on Sunday, December 14 against the Boston Bruins, but they will. also be the debut by Quinn Hughes. It will be interesting to see how he fits in and if they can pull off another win.
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