Filip Gustavsson beats Canes again, Vinnie Hinostroza scores winner in Wild debut: 4 takeaways

New York Times

07-02-2025

ST. PAUL, Minn. — After being shut out in back-to-back games to end what had been a solid road trip, the Minnesota Wild returned to a home that hasn't been very sweet this season.
But in a tight-checking game that wasn't high on big events, Filip Gustavsson and the Wild handed the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 loss at Xcel Energy Center.
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One day after being claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators, Vinnie Hinostroza scored his first goal with the Wild and first in the NHL since Nov. 4, 2023. It became the winning goal when Sebastian Aho ruined Filip Gustavsson's bid for a second consecutive shutout against Carolina this season.
Yakov Trenin scored the Wild's other goal and Gustavsson, in perhaps his final start before representing Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, made 15 of his 37 saves in the first period. Gustavsson put on quite a show, especially with the Canes buzzing with an extra attacker. He made a number of saves that left him exhausted at game's end, including a robbery on star Mikko Rantanen.
Gustavsson, who entered with a 2-5 record in his previous eight starts with a 4.34 goals-against average and .873 save percentage, bounced back from allowing six goals in Ottawa last weekend. He improved his career totals with Minnesota to 63-38-14 and passed Dwayne Roloson (62) for fourth place on the franchise's all-time win list.
The Wild victory snapped a four-game losing streak at home and was their fifth win in their past 14 home games.
1st goal in a Wild sweater for Vinnie Hinostroza 🤩!! pic.twitter.com/8yj7bAdfrG
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 7, 2025
One day after the Predators were trying to slide him through waivers to get back to Milwaukee, Vinnie Hinostroza became the 323rd player to play a game for the Wild and the 31st player to score in his Wild debut.
Playing on a line with Marcus Foligno and Freddy Gaudreau, Hinostroza scored his first goal with the Wild 49 seconds into the third period when he tipped Jared Spurgeon's point shot off the post, off goalie Freddie Andersen and in.
He also had a near goal in the first period when his rebound try of Foligno's shot was popped over the net by Andersen. In the second period, Hinostroza drew the ire of the Canes and applause of Wild fans when he hit the brakes and gave Andersen a snow shower.
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He finished with three shots.
'He's got good experience in the league,' coach John Hynes said of the veteran of 388 games with seven teams. 'I think he's a fast, tenacious player. He's got some offensive skill. Very hard competitor, high character guy, so I think you look at all those components, it was a good opportunity for him and a good opportunity to see how he fits in with our team.'
Hynes said the Wild made the decision to claim him off waivers due to Ryan Hartman's suspension and Jakub Lauko's latest injury that resulted in an MRI on Wednesday (no update yet, but Hynes doesn't expect it to be a season-ending injury).
Hinostroza just so happens to be one of Hartman's best friends. They grew up together in Illinois, played youth hockey and football together and were teammates on both the Rockford IceHogs and Chicago Blackhawks.
In fact, it was Hartman who texted Hinostroza that the Wild claimed him off waivers when he saw a post on X. Hinostroza hadn't even found out yet.
'I was in his wedding party last summer and got to meet all these guys, so coming in with some familiar faces helped and it's great to have him,' Hinostroza said.
On a night where the Wild's top two lines of Matt Boldy-Marco Rossi-Mats Zuccarello and Liam Ohgren-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Johansson (the all-Karlstad line) got bottled up, the Wild's fourth line of Devin Shore-Marat Khusnutdinov-Trenin generated a couple strong offensive zone shifts and the game's opening goal less than three minutes in.
Zach Bogosian's outlet that would have been an icing got slowed down just enough by a Carolina player at the Wild blue line that the speedy Khusnutdinov was able to catch up to the puck. While being checked by Jalen Chatfield, Khusnutdinov spun and passed to an oncoming Trenin, who slipped a backhander five-hole for his fifth goal of the season.
Oh my Goodness Marat Khusnutdinov what a pass to Yakov Trenin 🤯
Great goal to get the @mnwild off to an early start pic.twitter.com/LcKtyOZn9j
— TGLM-Sports (@TGLMSports) February 7, 2025
Before serving the second game of his 10-game suspension (barring what happens in his appeal), Ryan Hartman got bag skated by the assistant coaches Thursday morning, then worked his butt off on the ice with skating and skills instructor Andy Ness.
When he returns March 9, fitness shouldn't be an issue, according to Hynes.
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Let's put it this way: If the 10-game suspension doesn't teach Hartman a lesson, a month skating with Ness and working out with strength coach Matt Harder should do the trick.
'From Ryan's standpoint, we have a plan together that's going to be pretty intensive for him when he gets back from (the 4 Nations) break — you know, skating-wise, intensity-wise, fitness-wise — to make sure that he's ready,' Hynes said. 'He has to put in the time and the effort. We have a schedule, but I'd like to see some real strong dedication from him to make sure that when he does come back, he's fit and ready to play.
'And then from a team perspective, in that time frame, we've got to go about our business and we got to win with the guys that are in.'
As Hynes always says, the hardest part of scratching a player is the decision-making process, not the conversation that comes afterward with the player that has to come out of the lineup.
Hynes has been talking up Jon Merrill and what he believes is his strong play for several weeks, but against the Hurricanes, Merrill was taken out of the lineup for Declan Chisholm. With eight defensemen on the roster — until, it feels, Travis Dermott is inevitably placed on waivers — Hynes simply wanted to get Chisholm back in the lineup, especially after the Wild were blanked in consecutive games.
But during a healthy 10-minute chat on the ice during Thursday's morning skate, Merrill showed he clearly didn't agree with the decision.
'We were just talking about where his game's come this year,' Hynes said. 'It's difficult when you have to sit a player out that's playing some quality hockey. And Jonny is doing that. And he basically was just talking about he feels like he's playing his best hockey since he's been here, and he's looking forward to things down the stretch. And I told him the same thing.
'Sometimes you have to make tough decisions with the team, but the fact that he likes his game and feels confident in that and feels like he should be in the lineup, he's correct. But we can only dress six or seven guys, but it was a good conversation.'