ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 Two games don\u2019t make a season, but two games into the season, it\u2019s clear two injuries have had big ripple effects on the Minnesota Wild lineup.<\/p>\n
Mats Zuccarello is sidelined after having surgery on a lower-body injury. Nico Sturm is also expected to miss six to eight weeks with a back injury.<\/p>\n
Zuccarello showed up to camp hurt. Sturm was hurt on the first day of camp.<\/p>\n
But if Zuccarello was on the first or second line, checker Marcus Foligno wouldn\u2019t be on the second. He\u2019d be on the third line with Ryan Hartman and Marcus Johansson, and Yakov Trenin would be on the fourth line with Sturm and Vinnie Hinostroza or one youngster \u2014 Liam Ohgren or rookie Danila Yurov.<\/p>\n
Now Foligno is on the second line, Trenin on the third and the Wild are using two kids \u2014 Ohgren and Hunter Haight \u2014 on the fourth line with Hinostroza.<\/p>\n
The Wild are 1-1 after Saturday\u2019s disappointing 7-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the tough L.A. Kings coming to town before a five-game road trip on the horizon.<\/p>\n
As they say, buckle up because general manager Bill Guerin may have to address the sudden depth concerns the injuries have caused.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a small sample size, but here are some observations from the first two games:<\/p>\n
The second line\u2019s a problem<\/b><\/p>\n
Zuccarello\u2019s injury is as big a problem as we thought it was going to be.<\/p>\n
Foligno is a great player in a certain role, but when he was cast in the top-six to start the season after not playing a shift there in the preseason, you knew the Wild were grasping at something after Johansson, Ohgren and Yurov didn\u2019t earn the spot.<\/p>\n
The Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Vladimir Tarasenko line has no points and just nine shots at five-on-five. Tarasenko, the one-time star, has been MIA.<\/p>\n
While they weren\u2019t as analytically bad as they were measured in St. Louis, and they didn\u2019t give much at all Saturday, there\u2019s still hardly a memorable scoring chance generated by the trio.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we got to be a little bit more connected on the forecheck, just trying to turn some more pucks over and kind of grind teams down low, and hang out around pucks down low, and just try to use our D,\u201d Ek said. \u201cCrashing the net. We\u2019re three big bodies, so I think that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coach John Hynes acknowledged that the coaches are already discussing how to handle the situation, but it\u2019s a good bet he\u2019ll shuffle things up at Monday\u2019s morning skate before playing the Kings.<\/p>\n
Yurov was scratched the first two games, but we could see him in the lineup. The question is whether Hynes would throw him into the spot or maybe use Johansson, who played in the top-six all of last season. But on the road, this could become an issue, so while Hynes probably doesn\u2019t want to separate Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy after they combined for six points in two games, he may have to spread things around.
\u201cThat\u2019s something that we talked a little bit about and felt that a little bit in the game tonight,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cWhether that\u2019s splitting that (second) line up or trying some different combinations there, it\u2019s something we\u2019ll look at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faceoffs continue to be an issue<\/b><\/p>\n
This is not a shock because the Wild are perennially one of the league\u2019s worst in the faceoff circle. But after winning 29 of 54 in St. Louis for a 54 percent winning percentage, Minnesota was demolished in the faceoff circle Saturday.<\/p>\n
This is where Sturm\u2019s back injury hurts. He has turned into one of the best drawmen in the NHL, and that\u2019s a big reason why the Wild brought him back as a free agent.<\/p>\n
Despite scoring four power-play goals, they won 7 of 20 faceoffs (35 percent, 3 of 10 in the first period on two wasted power plays) and 16 of 43 at even-strength (37 percent).<\/p>\n
Overall, they won 26 of 71 (37 percent).<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t really get any rhythm going today,\u201d said Ek, who won 7 of 21 (33 percent). \u201cSo look at it and see what I can do better, (like) just timing with the ref and all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marco Rossi also only won 6 of 21 (29 percent), while Hartman has won 17 of 26 in two games (65.3 percent). There\u2019s no doubt the Wild are losing 50-50 pucks, like the one Haight lost en route to Columbus\u2019 sixth goal, but Ek said it\u2019s the centers that are in there, and they have to bear down.<\/p>\n
Hynes said Ek and Rossi \u201chave to be better,\u201d but added that \u201cfaceoffs are a big part of the centermen, yes, but I also think there\u2019s a lot of 50-50 pucks, too, in the faceoff circle that your wings and your D also have to help and touch the puck first.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat line of scrimmage, yes, it\u2019s the center, but it\u2019s also a lot of 50-50 pucks that are laying around. We have to win some of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wild are going to ride the \u2018Bus\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
Filip Gustavsson joked the other night \u2014 after his impressive shutout over the Blues in the season opener \u2014 that he had a rough game after a gem in the opener two years ago (a 7-4 loss in Toronto after a 2-0 blanking of the Cup champion Florida Panthers).<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope to have a better second game (this time around),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Well, the results were the same (a 7-4 loss to Columbus), but that doesn\u2019t mean the Wild need to worry about their clear-cut No. 1. There were some plays Gustavsson would like to have back, most notably the second goal, he said. But there were also some \u201cweird\u201d ones, as Hynes mentioned, and Gustavsson\u2019s game (and mindset) are in a healthy place going into a season where he\u2019ll be relied on heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cGames like this are on and off,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t do anything. We had a lot of power plays, so you just stand there. And then they had a few power plays, and it\u2019s just on and off, no real flow to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wild feel it was worth the investment t<\/a>o lock up Gustavsson to his five-year deal ($6.8 million AAV). And how far they go will depend a lot on the Swede. But with the condensed schedule, they\u2019re going to need to give Jesper Wallstedt a good chunk of games, including two this week. Can Wallstedt give them a boost Monday before the back end of a back to back and the start of a five-game road trip?<\/p>\n Buium is a \u2018work in progress\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot to be excited about with Zeev Buium<\/a>, whose playmaking skills and skating ability should provide a spark to the power play. And you\u2019ve seen flashes of that, especially on the rookie\u2019s first career goal in the third period, when Buium pinched down to the left circle after his initial shot and fired another in.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see the talent that\u2019s out there \u2026 I think it\u2019s just reading off of them,\u201d Buium said. \u201cYou\u2019re not always just playing your position. You\u2019ve got to be comfortable being anywhere. So for me, it\u2019s just trying to have a little bit more of a shooter\u2019s mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n bringing the Buium!!!!!! pic.twitter.com\/mAUwOLNWfo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But Buium has also likely made the coaching staff nervous with some of his plays with the puck on the power play Saturday. There were a few sloppy passes on zone entries, and one instance where a puck slipped through him at the blueline. The fact that Buium was a minus-4 Saturday wasn\u2019t necessarily reflective of him struggling mightily defensively (one minus came on an empty-net goal), but he\u2019s still working through his game and figuring out what he can do and what he can\u2019t at this level. Hynes called him a bit of a \u201cwork in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n And some adjustments are expected with Buium playing such a meaty role, quarterbacking the first power play and joining captain Jared Spurgeon in the second pair. Only Matt Boldy (25:24) logged more ice time than Buium (24:39).<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m just finding my game, my flow, and within the team,\u201d Buium said. \u201cThe guys are great, and it\u2019s so easy to kind of pick off things with them, and any questions or anything, anyone can answer them. So it\u2019s been good. I think we\u2019ve been playing good, but just didn\u2019t get the result tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaprizov-Boldy toying with opponents<\/b><\/p>\n Two games into the season, the Wild\u2019s offense, not shockingly, centers around the greatness of the Wild\u2019s two highest-paid forwards \u2014 Kaprizov and Boldy.<\/p>\n Boldy has two goals and four assists. So does Kaprizov.<\/p>\n And their chemistry, especially on the power play, has been fun to watch. They\u2019ve been so good, you still feel they\u2019ve left some offense on the ice with their 17 combined shots.<\/p>\n Buium is enjoying the view from his spot on the No. 1 power play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s incredible,\u201d Buium said. \u201cI mean, I think you never are confused if they don\u2019t pass to you. Like Bolds was holding it on that five-on-three, but you know he\u2019s holding it for a reason, and you know he\u2019s gonna do something. We don\u2019t know exactly what, but you know something is gonna happen.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think for me, it\u2019s like, I trust those guys more than I trust myself. So trying to put them in good spots.\u201d<\/p>\n KAPRIZOV 2-2 pic.twitter.com\/Axsr8basqN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ryan Hartman an \u2018impact player\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n With the way Hartman performed in the playoffs \u2014 and he might have been the Wild\u2019s best forward not named Kaprizov or Boldy \u2014 it was going to be interesting to see if he could carry it over.<\/p>\n So far, Hartman certainly has.<\/p>\n Hartman has been a play-driver offensively with two goals and 11 shots on goal in two games. He\u2019s been responsible defensively, making smart decisions and reads. He\u2019s been a pest to the other teams and has kept his composure. He\u2019s won 65 percent of his draws. There\u2019s a swagger to his game (ask Erik Gudbranson, who was ticked off at the Wild center rubbing his delay of game penalty in).<\/p>\n Hahahahahahah he is such a rat I love him pic.twitter.com\/z20u3wSMjM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hynes had talked about how, with Sturm out, they\u2019d need other centers to step up. And he brought up Hartman, noting what kind of \u201cimpact player\u201d he could be when he\u2019s on his game.<\/p>\n Is what Hartman is doing sustainable over the course of the season?<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be sustainable because it\u2019s a conscious choice to play that way,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cIf you have a player that turns it on, turns it off, that\u2019s a choice. It\u2019s not an ability issue, right? It\u2019s a conscious choice to play with the right intentions and play the game the right way. And do that consistently. And when you do that, now you\u2019re really making an impact as an individual player and a player as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n Special teams have been solid<\/b><\/p>\n Yes, yes, yes, we know, this is a small sample size.<\/p>\n But the Wild\u2019s power play has connected five times in two games, and their penalty kill has been scored on once on five attempts, and that was a five-on-three Saturday.<\/p>\n What\u2019s funny is that the first two power plays in the first game and the first two power plays in the second game were atrocious, but when the Wild needed to score, they absolutely did.<\/p>\n MATT BOLDY pic.twitter.com\/MByyp0Ed1f<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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