In this era of advanced statistics and probabilities and over-analysis of every nuance on every shift of a hockey game, the only numbers that really matter when the final horn blows are posted on the scoreboard. And those digits once again did not favor the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Playing a San Jose Sharks team that came to St. Paul with just one prior win this season, and some of the NHL’s worst defensive statistics on those resume, the Wild faltered once again, falling behind, rallying, then falling behind for good.
A pair of William Eklund goals and an overtime goal by Macklin Celebrini were difference-makers in San Jose’s 6-5 win, as the Wild lost their third game in a row and fell to 1-4-2 in their past seven.
Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi, Ryan Hartman, Zeev Buium and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild, who trailed by two goals in all three periods, battled back, dominated overtime, and still came up short thanks to San Jose’s timely power play offense.
“The bench was good, we continued to push, we found a way to get ourselves back in the game, we tied the game, we had a good overtime,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “One mistake, a bounced puck bounces the other way and it winds up in the back of the net.”
Jesper Wallstedt, making his third start of the season, had 19 saves in the loss.
In overtime, the Wild controlled the puck for more than three minutes, forcing the Sharks goalie to stop defenseman Brock Faber on the doorstep twice. Faber’s third shot produced a huge rebound that Celebrini turned into a breakaway, ending the game with the Sharks’ lone overtime shot.
“I think those go in another night, but they didn’t tonight,” Faber said. “But we got our point tonight, obviously…I thought we had a good response again, going down early. We’re just trying to work our way out of it.”
Entering Sunday’s game, Minnesota’s penalty kill ranked 30th out of 32 NHL teams, so taking an early penalty was a surefire way to hand the momentum to the visitors. And when Vinnie Hinostroza went to the penalty box for interference, the Sharks attacked. Posted at the side of the crease, San Jose winger William Eklund banked a puck into the net off the skate of Wild defender Jonas Brodin for an early lead.
After the Wild pressured, but did not score, on their first power play, the Sharks doubled their lead when Wallstedt thwarted a rush to the net, only to have the puck squirt through a crowd to rookie Michael Misa, who popped it past the goalie’s outstretched skate. It was the first career goal for Misa, who was picked second overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
On the Wild’s second power play, after Hinostroza took a high stick to the face, Matt Boldy clanked a shot off the right goalpost. But before Sharks defenseman Vincent Iorio had left the penalty box, Rossi zipped a long-range pass to the net that Johansson redirected in to get Minnesota on the board. It was Johansson’s third goal in the past two games.
On the next shift, Kirill Kaprizov stole the puck from Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais at the blue line to kick-start a 2-on-1 rush. Kaprizov passed to Rossi, who blasted a puck past the San Jose goalie to tie the game. The two goals came just 32 seconds apart.
The Wild have now gone three full games without holding a lead, in sharp contrast to this time a year ago when they did not trail for the first seven games of the season.
“Sometimes, how I say, we try make some plays and it’s not there, turnover,” said Kaprizov, who had three points and four turnovers in the game. “And sometimes we just try too simple, just put in zone, and just go for it, you know. I mean like sometimes we can just play some hockey.”
A golden opportunity to take the lead slipped away early in the middle frame when Yakov Trenin had a yawning net in front of him, only to have the puck slip off his blade before he could launch a shot. Instead, the Sharks got goals from Eklund and Ryan Reaves on back-to-back shifts, 18 seconds apart, to again establish a two-goal advantage near the midway point of the game.
Minnesota went back to the power play in the third when Hartman was slashed in the hand by Misa. Back on the ice a minute later, Hartman took a pass from Kaprizov and got off a low shot that eluded Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov to pull the Wild back within a goal. It was Hartman’s first goal since he had scored twice in the season opener at St. Louis on Oct. 9.
But Tyler Toffoli scored the Sharks’ second power play goal of the game a short time later to re-establish a two-goal lead for the visitors. Rookie defenseman Buium once again got the Wild, and the crowd, back in the game when his long-range shot from the blue line deflected off the shoulder of San Jose center Ty Dellandrea and looped past Askarov got Buium’s second career goal.
With just under five minutes to play and Hartman heading into the offensive zone, Sharks defenseman Dmitry Orlov collided with Hartman knee-on-knee, dropping him to the ice. While Hartman was helped to the locker room in obvious pain, officials reviewed the play for a possible major penalty. After review, they said there was no penalty on the play.
“I just kind of lost feeling. It was more of a Charley horse,” Hartman said, noting that he wears a brace on that knee, which likely saved him from a more serious injury. “I kind of see my knee hyperextend but that brace doesn’t allow it to bend back, so I’m glad I continued to wear that.”
Hartman returned to the game two shifts later, and with Wallstedt headed to the bench for an extra attacker, Eriksson Ek tipped a Kaprizov shot past Askarov to tie the game with 2:18 left in regulation. It was a 5-on-5 goal, as Wallstedt had not quite reached the bench when the puck went in. Kaprizov had three assists in the game — the third of which was his 400th career point.
Askarov finished with 28 saves for the Sharks, who will host the Wild on New Years’ Eve in San Jose.
The Wild’s six-game homestand reaches the halfway point on Tuesday when they host the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. It will be Winnipeg’s first visit to Grand Casino Arena this season.
Briefly
Injured Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian visited the pressbox between the first and second periods on Sunday wearing a walking boot. He has missed the last five games after suffering a lower body injury during an Oct. 17 loss at Washington. While not offering a timeline for his return following surgery, Wild coach John Hynes has indicated that he does not expect Bogosian’s absence will be long-term.
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