Foligno’s promotion paying off for Wild
Marcus Foligno won’t be seeing the fourth line again anytime soon.
Foligno, a mainstay on that line for the majority of his three-year tenure with Minnesota, was promoted to a bigger role by head coach Bruce Boudreau last weekend.
Foligno rewarded Boudreau by tallying one goal and an assist Saturday night against Winnipeg, and then followed it up with two goals in the shootout loss to Calgary the next day.
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It was Foligno’s eighth career game with two goals, and his first with the Wild.
“You move up in the lineup and you show ‘em you never want to go back,” Boudreau said after the Wild’s 3-2 win over Winnipeg on Saturday night. “That’s the way he played.”
Over the last 14 games, Foligno has posted nine points — four goals and five assists. With seven goals and nine assists (16 points) in the season’s first 33 games, Foligno is nearing new career bests. His current career highs are 13 goals (2016-17), 15 assists (2017-18) and 23 points (last reached in 2017-18).
Foligno will get a chance to add to those totals Thursday night when the Wild travel to Calgary to avenge Sunday’s loss.
NOTABLE
— Since the 2009-10 season, Minnesota is 13-6-2 in Calgary. The Wild won just three games in regulation over the franchise’s first 25 trips to Calgary.
— The Wild have killed just 67.7% of their penalties since Nov. 21, which is the worst percentage in hockey. The Wild have allowed five power-play goals over the past two games alone.
— One key for Thursday night’s game will be closing out periods. Minnesota has yielded the most goals (27) to opponents in the final two minutes of any period. The Wild have given up a goal in the closing two minutes of a period in five of their last six road contests.
— Calgary owns a 13-2-5 record in one-goal games this season, the fourth-best mark in the NHL.
Statistics courtesy Sportradar, hockey-reference.com
