NHL Game of the Week – Minnesota Wild vs Boston Bruins

Story posted March 18, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Adrianna Gallucci

The NHL Game of the Week is shaped to be a showdown between the red-hot Minnesota Wild and the first-place Boston Bruins.

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota is second in the Central and is looking to hold its pace after an insane altercation in its game against St. Louis.

After Ryan Hartman scored in the second period, Blues goalie Jordan Binnington dropped the gloves and threw a bunch, ultimately resulting in a match penalty and a two-game suspension.

Moving on from the altercation, the Wild will not play again until it faces the Bruins.

Kirill Kaprizov was having a great year in Minnesota and still leads the team with 74 points but has been out with a leg injury for over a week.

In his absence, Mats Zuccarello has stepped up and tallied 63 points while playing on the first line with Hartman and Sammy Walker, who was recalled from the AHL to fill the gap that Kaprizov left.

Filip Gustavsson has looked great in goal for Minnesota with a 2.01 GAA and 931 save percentage.

Though Minnesota might be young, they are talented.

Boston Bruins

But talented enough to knock off the only team in the league to clinch a playoff spot?

Though they’ve struggled in their last four games, the Bruins, quite literally, have nothing to worry about.

They’ve got 105 points in the Atlantic standings compared to the second-place Toronto Maple Leaf’s 89, and they were a team that made huge moves before the deadline.

These moves included signing David Pastrnak to a monster contract and acquiring Garnet Hathaway and Dmitri Orlov from Washington, which have boosted an already-stacked Boston roster.

Pastrnak leads the team in points with 89 and is followed by Brad Marchand at 56 and David Krejci at 52, who have all stepped up to be big leaders on the roster.

Linus Ullmark is also having the season of his career and has made himself a serious Vezina candidate.

He leads the league in save percentage with .935 and is the only goalie this season to score a goal, which is a little inconsequential in the grand scheme of it, but a fun fact for hockey fans everywhere.

The Bruins will play the Winnipeg Jets on March 16 before playing Minnesota.

The Matchup

This is a must-watch game.

Someone trails Ullmark’s league-best save percentage, and his name is Gustavsson. Both teams have brick walls stacked in the nets for them, and with a powerful offense, it really could be anyone’s game.

The Wild will host the Bruins at Xcel Energy Center at 2:00 p.m. on March 18.

Adrianna Gallucci is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.