Game 17: Montreal Canadiens @ Minnesota Wild
Start time: **8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Wild region: Bally Sports North (BSN), Bally Sports Wisconsin (BSWI)
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Monday afternoon, with 49 seconds left in the 3rd period, Christian Dvorak nonchalantly deposited a puck into an empty net to seal a 7-5 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
As he did so, the city of Montreal collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
The routine nature of the actual goal-scoring act belied the chaos comprising the sequence leading up to it. With a potential 2-on-0 break looming, Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki couldn’t decide who to take up the puck. Anderson was ahead of the Canadiens captain, but deferred, wanting Suzuki to have an opportunity to seal his hat trick. Unfortunately, Suzuki knew nothing of Anderson’s good intentions, and waited for the winger to take up the charge. The ensuing confusion gave Dylan Cozens an opportunity to break up the play, forcing Anderson into the corner where he delivered a soft backhand pass to Dvorak, who was alertly taking nothing for granted.
The rollercoaster of that sequence is a rather neat summation of a game where the Canadiens looked both ahead-and-cool and dead-and-buried—often within minutes of each other. It was a neat summation of a season featuring steps forward and leaps backward. For once though, the Habs managed to be a net positive on the night—their first time accomplishing such in their last seven games.
It’s on this high note that the Canadiens head west to Minnesota for the final match of their five-game road trip. Awaiting them is a surprising Wild club that has only emerged pointless twice in 15 games so far this season.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| 5-9-2 | Record | 10-2-3 |
| 46.8% (26th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 48.4% (23rd) |
| 2.88 (19th) | Goals per game | 3.53 (7th) |
| 4.13 (32nd) | Goals against per game | 2.53 (3rd) |
| 23.2% (9th) | PP% | 20.8% (13th) |
| 80.4% (15th) | PK% | 75.0% (25th) |
| 0-1-1 | Head-to-Head Record (23-24) | 2-0-0 |
The Wild have been stuck in that “mushy middle” that Canadiens fans are all too familiar with for a number of years. Yes, they have made the playoffs four times in the last five seasons (and eight times in the last decade), but the last time they reached the second round was 2015. When they missed the playoffs last season, the question was whether this was the first step in a long decline or simply a bump on the road.
The biggest question surrounding Minnesota—perhaps since their inception as an NHL franchise—has been whether they can score enough goals. Last season, they only managed 251 goals—good for 21st in the league—despite Kirill Kaprizov’s third consecutive 40-goal season. So far this season, the answer is a resounding yes. Minnesota’s 53 goals for has them 10th league-wide. Kaprizov leads the way with nine (and an astonishing 28 points), but he’s had help: Matt Boldy also has nine, while Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek have chipped in with six and five, respectively. In fact, fifteen different Wild players have a goal this season—including goaltender Filip Gustavsson—and every Wild skater save two (Liam Ohgren and Daemon Hunt) has at least a point to his name.
Defensively, the Wild rely on their trifecta of Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon, although Faber stands a step ahead of the other two. The sophomore is currently logging an average of 25:08 a night, more than three minutes ahead of second place Brodin (22:03). Faber is partnered by Jacob Middleton, a 7th-round draft pick (#210) who has found new levels to his game since arriving in Minnesota in 2022. Zach Bogosian and former Canadien Jon Merrill round out the third pair.
In goal, Minnesota’s starter is Gustavsson, currently enjoying a run of form (2.27 GAA, .919 save percentage) closer to his breakout 22-23 season (2.10, .931) than his mediocre 23-24 campaign (3.06, .899). Behind him is the ageless Marc-Andre Fleury, in what will mark the Sorel, Quebec native’s final game against the Canadiens on home ice. Gustavsson should get the start on Thursday, but head coach John Hynes is not beyond making decisions based on sentiment, having already started Fleury in Pittsburgh despite also playing him playing two games prior. Besides, there is a pragmatic reason to argue for Fleury in the nets against the Tricolore: the Wild may want to rest their starter for their game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Minnesota comes into Thursday night’s matchup on a 4-1-1 (and 9-2-1) run of form, making them arguably the toughest challenge yet for the Canadiens. That said, anything can happen in an NHL game—given that one of the Wild’s two regulation defeats was a 7-5 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens will look to see if their stars can keep taking steps forward for a second consecutive game.
