Mats Zuccarello thriving on surging Wild team and still fondly remembered by Rangers fans

ELMONT, N.Y. – Henrik Lundqvist was the guest of honor, with the Rangers retiring the goalie's No. 30 to the rafters inside Madison Square Garden on Friday, but Mats Zuccarello's presence didn't go unnoticed.

Fans chanted his nickname throughout the evening — so much so that if not for the fact Zuccarello was based at the visiting bench and wearing a Wild jersey, the scene could have been from any of his nine seasons with the Rangers.

His performance on the ice was certainly a throwback to his heyday on Broadway.

After tying the game on the power play in the second period, Zuccarello helped put the game-winning goal in motion to cap off a 3-2 rally over the Rangers that stretched the Wild's winning streak to four games.

"It was a perfect day," Zuccarello said.

But the show Zuccarello put on wasn't a one-off for old times' sake.

This type of impact has become run-of-the-mill for the 34-year-old veteran in a season that could turn out to be even better than the ones he had with New York that shaped his career.

"It's great for us that Zuccy is playing like he's playing," Wild coach Dean Evason said, "and I don't mean just scoring goals [but] what he's doing with his work ethic."

Zuccarello isn't just the best he has been with the Wild; this has been the most consistent stint of his entire NHL tenure.

He has picked up at least a point in 10 consecutive games for the first time in his career, a span in which Zuccarello's tallied five goals and 13 assists. In the process, he became only the fifth player in Wild history to record a double-digit point streak; teammate Kevin Fiala was the fourth, scoring before Zuccarello did Friday to also extend his point streak to a career-high 10 games. Their matching tears are the longest active point streaks in the NHL.

Recently, Zuccarello has been especially productive, racking up multiple points in six consecutive games to establish a Wild record. He's only the second NHLer to accomplish that feat this season, joining Edmonton's Connor McDavid. Zuccarello's 13 points over those six games are tied for the most in the NHL since Jan. 14.

Overall, he ranks second on the Wild in scoring (40 points).

"I've been lucky to have been a part of the offense the last couple games," Zuccarello said. "But at any day, any other line can. So, that's good about our team."

Bottom line, Zuccarello has already made this his most successful season with the Wild points-wise, surpassing the 37 he had when he debuted in 2019-20.

And since the Wild is still two games shy of the halfway point, with its second-to-last test before the All-Star break Sunday vs. the New York Islanders, there's plenty of time left to eclipse the level he was at when Zuccarello emerged as a smooth-skating playmaker with the Rangers from 2010 to 2019.

That was Zuccarello's calling card when he joined the Wild as a prized free-agent acquisition, agreeing to a five-year, $30 million contract after his time with New York ended via trade to Dallas.

In his first season with the Wild, Zuccarello scored 15 goals, but he roved around the lineup and didn't play as many minutes as he'd been used to with the Rangers, whom he had a career-best 61 points for in 2015-16.

Those circumstances began to change a year ago when Zuccarello teamed up with Kirill Kaprizov. Now, the two remain paired up on one of the team's top lines and the Wild relies on Zuccarello more often; he was even an alternate captain briefly when injury and COVID-19 sapped the team's leadership group.

"When he first got here, maybe we didn't use him properly," Evason said. "Certainly, playing with Kirill, they had a chemistry, so it was kind of right away we were playing him more. But we were also not just playing him because of chemistry but because of what he's doing. He forced us to play him more, put him in all situations."

What Zuccarello accomplished and meant to the Rangers isn't forgotten, as evidenced by the reception he received Friday at Madison Square Garden.

However, his new chapter with the Wild is also trending in a memorable direction.

"Obviously, you've got a special relationship with the [Rangers] fans," Zuccarello said. "You've been here for nine years, and they were great to me when I was here. Still are. Obviously, you appreciate that a lot.

"But I'm in a great place right now, Minnesota. Love everything about it, how we play as a team and the fans there. So, I've got the best of both worlds, for sure."