The Minnesota Wild walked out of Calgary without a win on Thursday night. That makes two consecutive losses to kick off their five-game road trip.
The Wild now drop to 6-3-2 on the season, technically much better than their start last year. There is some comfort in that, as the team was pretty horrible to begin 2025, but still became one of the league’s best down the stretch.
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov unfortunately saw his seven-game point streak get snapped. If it’s any consolation, he still leads the entire league in goals with 11.
After the rough regulation loss to Calgary, one of the worst teams in the league, a veteran forward wasn’t afraid to speak up.
Minnesota Wild Forward Blake Coleman Slams Special Teams, Takes Accountability
“That’s two games in a row we lost the special teams battle, and it cost us,” said Coleman. “You’ve got guys sitting on the bench that need to be on the ice. Three penalties in a row in the first period is not the recipe, and I’m certainly part of that. I’ll clean it up. I know we all will, and we’ll go from there.”
Oli Maata, returning after three games off due to an upper-body injury, also chimed in. “If you give up two goals and you’re trying to chase the whole game, it’s tough playing that way. Kudos to them for defending hard, but also I think we got our chances again and that just showed the way we’ve got to play the full 60.”
Next up for the Wild, they travel to Seattle to play the Kraken on Saturday night. It will be the first of a back-to-back for Minnesota, as they will also travel to Vancouver for a date with the Canucks on Sunday night.
Minnesota Could Finalize a Trade for Dylan Larkin Very Soon
In a recent appearance on KFAN, Minnesota Wild writer Michael Russo of The Athletic dropped some exciting news regarding Larkin’s eventual move.
“I think it’s going to happen soon,” said Russo. “I am under the impression from multiple sources that there was a conference call with the Red Wings the other day. I think there’s a lot of rumors out there that it’s getting close. It’s ugly right now in Detroit. They’re not playing well. He’s not playing well. I think they’d like to make a move at some point.”
Michael Russo isn’t the first to hint at a Larkin trade happening soon. ESPN’s John Buccigross also said last Friday that a trade would be coming in the next “7-10 days.” With today being Wednesday, that range is now roughly 2-5 days if he’s correct.
Could it be to the Minnesota Wild? Absolutely. Detroit Red Wings executives have been spotted at some recent Wild games, which sure makes it look like they’re getting a closer look at some of their potential trade compensation. A name they’re likely keeping a close eye on is center Danila Yurov.
Minnesota Wild Forward Sends Blunt Message After Flames Loss