Wild forward Mats Zuccarello not cooling off

Mats Zuccarello, Wild forward (⬆️ UP)

Zuccarello missed Minnesota’s first 11 games of the season while recovering from arm surgery he underwent in the offseason. Since his season debut Feb. 16, no one has been able to cool him off. Zuccarello has tallied three goals and eight assists (11 points) in eight games. He’s logged at least one point in six of those contests and multiple points in three. Only four-time All-Star Patrick Kane has more points since Feb. 16 (4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS).

Kaapo Kahkonen, Wild goaltender (⬆️ UP)

We’ve written extensively on the star power of Kirill Kaprizov, but there’s another Wild rookie thriving. Among rookie goaltenders with at least nine games played between the pipes, Kahkonen ranks second in goals-against-average (2.41), third in wins (8) and third in save percentage (.915).

Kyle Rudolph, Vikings tight end (⬇️ DOWN)

A second-round pick by Minnesota in 2011, Rudolph’s tenure with the Vikings officially ended Tuesday when the team released him. Over 10 seasons with the team, Rudolph hauled in 453 catches for 4,488 yards and ranks fifth in team history with 48 touchdowns (the most among tight ends). Now Harrison Smith, Rudolph’s former teammate at Notre Dame and a first-round pick in 2012, is the Vikings’ longest-tenured player.

Marcus Carr, Gophers guard (⬆️ UP)

With 41 points on 11-of-27 shooting against Nebraska on Saturday, Carr became the fifth player in program history to score 40+ points and just the second since 1972. That bested his previous career high of 35 points, accomplished against Ohio State (Dec. 15, 2019) and Green Bay (Nov. 25, 2020).

Chris Finch, Timberwolves head coach (⬇️ DOWN)

Finch was officially named the Timberwolves new head coach on Feb. 22. Since then, Minnesota has gone 0-4, losing to Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington and Phoenix by an average of 17.3 points per game. Oof.