Wild’s Eriksson Ek returns, scores 30th goal; Gustavsson solid: Key takeaways vs. Sharks

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Matt Boldy broke a 1-1 tie 18 seconds into the third period and assisted on Joel Eriksson Ek’s first-period goal as the Wild survived a scare put on by the worst team in hockey and defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

The 32nd-place Sharks have lost nine in a row and have won once in 19 games since Feb. 15. The Wild snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 1-0-1 to start their six-game homestand.

Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves for the victory and Ryan Hartman added his 19th goal into an empty net.

  • The Wild had a 55-27 shot-attempt advantage after two periods, yet the score was tied at 1-1.
  • Marcus Foligno, who has been dealing with a lingering groin injury during the second half of the season and has had to miss a number of practices and morning skates due to maintenance, missed Thursday’s game. Foligno told The Athletic recently it “isn’t perfect” but good enough to play. One wonders if the Wild are readying to shut him down.
  • The Wild, nine points back of Vegas with 10 games left, host the Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon in the third game of this homestand.

Eriksson Ek returns, scores 30th

Eriksson Ek, who missed the previous five games with a lower-body injury, hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. It was the 19th 30-goal season in Wild history, and he became the 11th player to do so in their uniform. He was also the fifth drafted-and-developed Wild player to score 30 for them (Marian Gaborik did it five times, Kirill Kaprizov three times and Matt Boldy and Jason Zucker one apiece). Near the end of a frustrating first period in which the Wild outshot the Sharks 16-1 but couldn’t get a puck past Mackenzie Blackwood, Eriksson Ek finally broke a 0-0 tie with 3:59 left when he buried a backdoor one-timer off a give and go with Kaprizov.

Another meh game by Johansson, Gaudreau

Marcus Johansson and Freddy Gaudreau are each in the midst of rough seasons. Johansson has 10 goals and 28 points in 68 games and is minus-11. Gaudreau has four goals and 14 points in 58 games and is minus-19. Both again were lousy against the Sharks. Not only were both on the ice for Mikael Granlund’s tying goal in the second (a bad break, when Granlund’s attempted pass deflected off Declan Chisholm and back to him) off a three-on-one, but the Wild were victimized by a bad change before the goal because of a lazy shot by Gaudreau above the right circle that was blocked, then picked off and turned quickly up the ice. All Gaudreau had to do was show awareness late in his 93-second shift and get the puck deep to allow for the change. Johansson was outmuscled all game on a line with rookie Marat Khusnutdinov. The analytics will tell you they were Corsi monsters against the Sharks. The eyes will tell you they did nothing, as usual, with all that offensive-zone time.

Gustavsson coming around?

Gustavsson wasn’t tested much against the Sharks, but when he was, especially in the third period (when he stopped all 17 shots he faced), he was good. After seeing Marc-Andre Fleury largely take the reins the past several weeks, Gustavsson got back in the net against San Jose after Fleury gave up 10 goals in his previous two starts. Gustavsson improved to 3-0-1 in his last five appearances with a 1.53 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. Coach John Hynes has been candid during the past few weeks that not only weren’t the Wild overjoyed by the way Gustavsson had been playing in the second half, they also weren’t happy with his practice habits. Hynes and goalie coach Frederic Chabot met with Gustavsson, and Hynes says his practices have been much better.

“When he hit that little stretch where Flower kind of took the reins for a bit, Freddy and I talked with Gus,” Hynes said Thursday morning. “Just Flower’s playing at a high level and he’s going to get the majority of the games right now, but we need two goalies down the stretch, which I’ve said all the way through. I’ve seen a different level of competitiveness in (Gustavsson’s) practice habits, how he’s competing in practice, getting himself ready for games, wanting the net back.”

Three stars

1. Matt Boldy, Wild: Scored his 25th goal of the season, had an assist and four shots on goal (eight attempted).
2. Mackenzie Blackwood, Sharks: In a game in which the Wild had the puck most of the game and spent the majority in the offensive zone, he made 22 of his 30 saves in the first 40 minutes.
3. Kirill Kaprizov, Wild: Had two assists and has 18 points in 11 games since a three-game pointless streak.

(Photo of Joel Eriksson Ek: Matt Krohn / USA Today)

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