TEMPE, Ariz. — Filip Gustavsson has been so good, so dominant for the Wild this season that his teammates often quip that they’ve run out of words to describe him.
They’ve called him a “wall.” Unbelievable. Incredible. Calm.
But you know what Gustavsson also is? Human. And the 24-year-old Swede had one of those rare off nights in his remarkably consistent season as the Wild lost 5-4 in overtime to the lottery-bound Coyotes at Mullett Arena. Gustavsson, coming off back-to-back shutouts, gave more goals Sunday than his previous five games combined (four).
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And the way the game winner went in — a wrist shot trickling through his arm into the crease, then tapped in on a rebound — was a fitting way for the odd night to end. He was just a bit off.
“I thought it hit my right blocker hand there, and I usually feel when it trickles through and falls behind you. I did a quick look back, I couldn’t see it so I thought it was in front of me.”
THE WINNER pic.twitter.com/umEVIURh8N
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 13, 2023
A big reason why the Wild are on a franchise-record-matching 13-game point streak (10-0-3) is because of their goaltending, from Gustavsson to Marc-Andre Fleury, who has won his last five starts. Every game, it seems like, they save more goals than expected. The streak could have ended either of the last two games had it not been for Fleury’s heroics. One often wondered how the Wild would do if their goaltender was — um — average.
It wasn’t that Minnesota was a sieve defensively — the Wild outshot the Coyotes 34-23, with Arizona only having five high-danger chances in all situations and 1.75 expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. But coach Dean Evason noted the high quality of the looks Arizona did get, open shots from the slot or right/left circles.
“We outshot them pretty drastically — we outplayed them for most of the game,” winger Ryan Reaves said. “It’s just the little mistakes that sometimes they don’t end up in the back of the net, sometimes they do. Today it just seemed like ‘Grade-A’ opportunities too. Sometimes grade-A’s go in.”
Reaves played a starring role in what seemed like “Fight Night” at Mullet Arena. The tiny, college arena was packed with a large segment of Wild fans. They took up most of the section behind one of the nets, banging the drum and chanting. And they got riled up when Reaves delivered a crushing hit three minutes in, then fought Bokondji Imama.
Most guys won’t fight Reaves, so it was a bit surprising that Imama — with five career NHL games — stepped up. It wasn’t much of a fight, though.
Ryan Reaves vs Bokondji Imama from the Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes game on Mar 12, 2023 https://t.co/qXFQ58BRkB
— hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) March 13, 2023
“He was talking to me before the warmups,” Reaves said. “I figured after I buried that guy, he was going to come after me. It was a little wild throwing I guess.”
Reaves and his line provided some scoring punch, too. Reaves tied the game late in the first period with a redirection, his second goal of the year. Connor Dewar scored his first goal since Dec. 21. Mason Shaw had a fight and two assists. Reaves finished with a Gordie Howe hat trick.
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When was his last one?
“High school?” Reaves said. “No, you can’t fight in high school. I don’t know if I ever had one.”
If there’s a silver lining from the past two games, it’s that the Wild have scored nine combined goals since Kirill Kaprizov’s injury, which will sideline him for 3-4 weeks. Every line is contributing, with Mats Zuccarello scoring Sunday, and Matt Boldy picking up a goal for his second straight game.
BOLDY BREAKAWAY 🫡#mnwild pic.twitter.com/Wd0LDwjhJ9
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 13, 2023
But this team isn’t built to outscore teams or to pull off a quarter-season of come-from-behind victories like they did last year. The M.O. of this group has been playing tight-checking, strong defensive games and relying on its stout goaltending duo. And there have been times the past week when the Wild have gotten a little loose. Their top pair of Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton has remained terrific, not allowing a goal against at five-on-five for their 13th straight game.
But they’re starting to miss shutdown defenseman Jonas Brodin a little bit more. The smooth-skating Swede, out since Feb. 21, is nearing a return to his first full practice, which could come Tuesday. On the Coyotes’ first goal, Barrett Hayton basically posted up Matt Dumba in the slot, corralled the puck and spun and fired to beat Gustavsson.
The Coyotes scored on two of their first five shots.
“It’s hard to get a rhythm going,” Gustavsson said. “They scored on the first shot and scored two shots later. When they enter the zone, they don’t shoot too much, they wait for the right opportunity. You’re just waiting.”
Hayton’s second goal was an open look from the left circle. Brett Ritchie’s goal was off the rush, a quick redirect after a cross-slot pass. Clayton Keller, one of the Coyotes’ few game breakers with 29 goals, scored the game-tying goal with eight minutes to go on an open look from up close. Alex Goligoski left Jack McBain as he entered the zone. And Keller beat Ryan Hartman to the spot to finish it.
WE'RE ALL TIED UP, FOLKS! pic.twitter.com/qtlDnXL4tC
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 13, 2023
“I don’t think they were screening too much,” Gustavsson said. “It was mostly clear shots. They were just coming down the middle and it’s tough from there. You don’t have much reaction time if at all.”
The Wild took three of four points on a back-to-back against two of the league’s worst teams, but the schedule will get tougher coming up. After a game in St. Louis on Wednesday, Minnesota will host the likely Presidents’ Trophy winners Bruins on Saturday and Capitals on Sunday. They’re in a good spot, one point out of first place and 11 points up on ninth-place teams with 15 games to go.
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“Every little point matters,” Reaves said.
The game wasn’t the Wild’s only loss. Marcus Foligno left the game in the third period after Laurent Dauphin fell on his right ankle. Foligno’s left leg gave out and it didn’t look good. Evason didn’t have an update on Foligno postgame, having not talked with the trainers yet, but he acknowledged the lower-body injury was “serious” enough for the winger to not return. It’d be a tough break for Foligno, who has been playing well lately after finally being healthy following early-season injuries.
Here’s the Foligno injury his first shift in third. Dauphin fell on his right ankle and his leg gave out right when he took a step. Looked bad pic.twitter.com/pf8u1Mb4sx
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 13, 2023
The Wild are usually automatic when leading after two periods, but fell to 25-0-2 after this one. They’re also typically very good in one-goal games (18-7-8), so this kind of loss was uncharacteristic, just like Gustavsson’s performance.
But they’ll learn from this one, with hopes of tightening up things at Tuesday’s practice and keeping their streak going.
“We wanted two points, but we’re finding a way to get points and that’s huge,” Shaw said. “The feeling in the locker room is really good. We’ve got a good thing going. And we’re not going to stop anytime soon.”
(Photo of Filip Gustavsson and Brett Ritchie: Norm Hall / NHLI via Getty Images)
