StaTuesday: Wild resurgent as offense breaks through
Brad Hunt‘s run as the Minnesota Wild‘s leading scorer has come to an end.
The 5-foot-9 defenseman has already matched his career high with five goals in 27 games, and led the Wild in scoring as recently as Nov. 2.
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But while Hunt’s red-hot slap shot has cooled in recent weeks, the players who were expected to key the Wild’s offense are finally coming around.
Minnesota has its first three-game winning streak of the season following a shootout victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday. The Wild have points in nine straight games dating back to a regulation win over the Arizona Coyotes on Nov. 14.
Minnesota is up to 15 points in its last nine games after managing just 13 points in its first 18 games. Only the Boston Bruins (17 points) have more during that stretch.
The usual suspects are leading the way.
Zach Parise leads the team with 10 points and is tied for second in the NHL with eight goals over Minnesota’s last nine. Kevin Fiala, who registered just one assist in his first eight games, ranks second on the team with eight points over that span.
WILD – SCORING SINCE NOV. 14
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PP | SH | S% |
| Zach Parise | 9 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 26.7 |
| Jason Zucker | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 25.0 |
| Jordan Greenway | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 21.4 |
| Kevin Fiala | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11.5 |
| Eric Staal | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11.1 |
| Luke Kunin | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15.4 |
| Ryan Donato | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6.7 |
| Ryan Suter | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 |
| Jared Spurgeon | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| Carson Soucy | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 |
| Victor Rask | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 |
| Ryan Hartman | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 |
| Jonas Brodin | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 |
| Mikko Koivu | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Hunt | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Eriksson Ek | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mathew Dumba | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In all, 14 different players have scored for the Wild over the course of their point streak, while three players have scored for the first time this season: Defensemen Jonas Brodin and Carson Soucy, as well as second-year forward Jordan Greenway.
Greenway and the “GEEK” line — Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek — have continued to produce. Greenway scored his first three goals of the season during the Wild’s recent run, including the game-winner in that Nov. 14 win that started the streak.
The Wild’s power play has been converting 25% of the time since the streak began, up from 20.6% on the season, while Parise is tied for the league lead with four power-play goals since Nov. 14.
A tough road trip will put the streak to the test — the Wild visit the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes this week — but things are looking up for Minnesota.
