ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marcus Foligno said he’s “sick” of the meetings and the motivational speeches.
That includes the ones he’s delivered.
As the Minnesota Wild’s playoff position became more perilous after last week’s road trip, the emotional roller-coaster of this season’s second half would wear on anyone. Players seemed despondent after Friday’s loss on Long Island.
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That’s what made Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars so impressive. Minnesota, emotionally and physically engaged from start to finish, looked like a completely different team.
“We’re in a crucial time of year — we’ve got to stop talking about it and how to do it,” Foligno said. “We’ve got to show up and play. We know we have it in here. It’s just getting our head around it and doing it for a full 60. Nice to see it show up and we need it right now.”
The Wild moved to six points ahead of the ninth-place Flames, who have two games in hand and host Minnesota on Friday. According to MoneyPuck, the Wild’s playoff chances increased from 83.6 percent to 91.8 percent with the victory. Had they lost in regulation, it would have dropped to 75 percent. According to The Athletic colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, which factors in the potential return of Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild’s playoff chances increased from 88 percent to 94 percent. Had they lost in regulation, it would have dropped to 79 percent.
The Stars led for a large part of this game, having taken the lead on Jason Robertson’s opener just under six minutes into the game — a “soft goal,” as Filip Gustavsson described it, obviously wanting that one back. But the Wild stuck with it, continuing to outshoot and outchance Dallas, killing all four Stars power plays. Matt Boldy tied it up with a relentless effort three minutes into the third and Marco Rossi scored the winner on a perfect pass from Mats Zuccarello on a power play in overtime.
“To me, it was all about mindset — that’s what today’s game was all about,” coach John Hynes said. “The tactics are the tactics. We executed those things. But at this point, we know them. It’s more of the mindset and the emotion, the urgency that we played the game with tonight, that’s what we need moving forward.”
GAME WINNAAAA pic.twitter.com/J74dDKKoRT
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 6, 2025
This was a stark contrast from how the Wild played Friday, when Hynes said they lacked the required urgency, execution and energy to win a game of that magnitude.
“We were great tonight — no passengers,” Boldy said. “Everyone was ready to go and that’s the response you need after a week like we had. I think that’s more of the team that we’re used to and expect from each other.”
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Foligno, who is fitting in well on the top line, scored the go-ahead goal about two minutes after Boldy in the third. But what also stuck out about this game was how the Wild responded when the Stars tied it back up with seven minutes to go. It was a bad luck play for Minnesota, as Thomas Harley’s point shot was headed a few feet wide when it banked in off of Zach Bogosian. But there wasn’t a dip in their emotions and how they played like there was on Friday against the New York Islanders.
“Those are bounces, we gotta live through those,” Foligno said. “We’ve got to fight through those. Those are going to happen in this game and definitely in the playoffs and the way you react to them is what makes your group special.”
The Wild don’t play again until Wednesday, when they host the San Jose Sharks. They could get Kaprizov back for that game, which would be a huge boost.
The Flames, on the other hand, have a bit of a softer schedule down the stretch, facing the Sharks twice and Ducks once in the next week with the showdown with Minnesota in between.
The Wild, 2-4-2 in their last eight, still feel like they’re in the drivers seat here to clinch a playoff spot — no matter what has happened in the past week or so.
“No one’s going to do it for you,” said Gustavsson, who made 23 saves and started 13 of the last 14 games. “We got some bad bounces on the two overtime ones in New York there on our trip. You can’t look backwards. We need to look forward. We know we’re being chased, and we’ve got four more games, and we’re just going to try to win them all.”
Boldy’s big-time play
You need your game-breakers, your stars, to come through, and Boldy delivered on Sunday.
It looked like it’d be another one of those tough nights to crack Jake Oettinger, who entered the game 7-0-2 with a 2.13 GAA and a .922 save percentage against the Wild. But three minutes into the third, Boldy’s second and third efforts paid off with an outstanding shift. A few moments after Boldy’s slick move in tight created a couple chances, he finally broke through.
He first redirected a Jared Spurgeon shot from the point, then saw a loose puck in the slot. Boldy raced over, and as he fell to his knees, took a big whack at the puck, beating Oettinger.
ALL KNOTTED UP 🪢#EasyToCelebrate x @budlight pic.twitter.com/IBxigxnKj6
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 6, 2025
“Just kind of a bouncing puck that found some free ice and I just tried to hit it as hard as I could,” Boldy said. “Lucky it went in.”
Boldy had another big goal on the latest road trip, tying the game late against New Jersey and forcing overtime, which earned Minnesota a much-needed point. With Kaprizov out the last several months with a lower-body injury, there was some pressure on Boldy to step up. The production hasn’t always been there, but there have been clutch moments along the way, like Sunday. It was Boldy’s sixth game of the season with three or more points.
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“He just seemed so tenacious, on the puck the whole shift,” Foligno said. “It was a great play to get the momentum back and the energy in the building. Then we went right back at them. He made a great play at the blue line again. Marco had a great pass, and Bolds was definitely a difference-maker tonight.”
PK comes through
The Wild’s penalty kill hasn’t been their MVP for a good chunk of games this season, but the unit played a huge role in this victory. They went 4-for-4, including killing a Stars power play with a four minutes left in a tied game, forcing overtime. That one included a top penalty killer in Brock Faber in the box.
The penalty kill has been trending up as of late, including going 8-for-9 on the recent three-game road trip.
“I thought there was urgency in the way we played,” Hynes said. “I thought the attention to detail was very strong. I thought we got saves at the right times from Gus. We were strong on our clears. That’s the recipe.”
Foligno and Freddy Gaudreau have some nice chemistry together now. The whole group was getting in shooting lanes. There weren’t many highlight-reel plays, they just got it done. And the unit putting a strong stretch together is an encouraging sign with playoffs approaching.
“The guys are being smarter with their shares and things like that in our zone,” Foligno said. “So I just feel like it’s a lot of confidence. It’s tough when you go up against a penalty kill that feels really confident.”
Middleton ‘avoided major injury’
Considering how dangerously Jake Middleton slammed into the boards and with how much speed Friday night on Long Island, the Wild’s top-pair defenseman dodged a big bullet.
Coach John Hynes said Middleton “avoided major injury” and is considered day-to-day with four games left in the regular season. Middleton flew back to Minnesota in a neck brace and went for an MRI on Saturday. Hynes said the MRI was negative for any serious damage. Middleton was said to be extremely sore the past few days, but granted what could have happened when Bo Horvat pushed him from behind so far from the boards, that’s relatively good news.
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Jonas Brodin was elevated into Middleton’s spot to play next to Brock Faber against the Stars, and Declan Chisholm joined the lineup to play alongside Jared Spurgeon. Chisholm played a big part of the Wild’s third-period comeback, having the classic “third assist” on both Boldy and Foligno’s goals. It was a nice bounce-back after his last game against the New York Rangers, where he committed a turnover in front of the net leading to Chris Kreider’s goal.
MARCUS FOLIGNO. 2-1. WHAT A GOAL pic.twitter.com/aFt5SUKMEE
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) April 6, 2025
Cameron Crotty was recalled to be the Wild’s extra defenseman until the Frozen Four, after which the Wild are expected to sign Zeev Buium. Crotty is the Wild’s fourth and final non-emergency call-up for the rest of the regular season.
(Photo of Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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