The Wild have started a new streak, and it's different from their last one.
Wild crushes Predators 6-1 with Connor Dewar's first hat trick, John Hynes' second Minnesota win
Connor Dewar had only 10 goals in 136 NHL games before his big night in the Wild's 6-1 victory over the Predators, the team that fired new coach John Hynes after last season.
December 1, 2023 at 12:30PM
They've won two in a row since dropping seven straight after routing the Predators 6-1 on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena to stay undefeated with new coach John Hynes in charge.
This is also just the second time all season the Wild have back-to-back victories.
"This group's been through a tough start," Hynes told reporters in Nashville. "But I will say that they are really tight. They're hungry. They've been very receptive to me coming in."
How the Wild won: Connor Dewar scored his first NHL hat trick to help the Wild run away for their most convincing performance after a season-high three-goal first period.
After a penalty kill by the Wild, Dewar capitalized at 6 minutes, 8 seconds for the first time in 17 games and then Jake Middleton and Kirill Kaprizov (power play) scored 31 seconds apart. Mats Zuccarello's assist on Kaprizov's goal pushed his point streak to eight games.
Overall, the penalty kill was 4-for-4 for a second consecutive game, and the power play went 1-for-4.
"Our confidence is building right now," Dewar said on the Wild's television broadcast, "and when we're a confident team, we're scary."
Dewar now has five goals on the season and 13 in his 137-game NHL career.
Turning point: The Predators unsuccessfully challenged Middleton's goal, and that led to Kaprizov converting on the power play.
After Marcus Foligno skated into Nashville territory, he dropped the puck to Middleton, who cut to the inside for a rising backhander that handcuffed Predators goalie Juuse Saros at 14:01.
Former Wild player and first-year Nashville coach Andrew Brunette (who replaced Hynes after Hynes was let go last offseason) challenged to check if Pat Maroon was offside when Foligno entered the zone, but Maroon wasn't. On the Predators' ensuing delay of game penalty, Kaprizov drained a one-timer.
"He's a superstar with a huge engine," Hynes said of Kaprizov. "He's been very impressive."
The Wild are now 4-0 when ahead after the first, and they didn't slow down in the second.
Maroon deflected in an Alex Goligoski shot at 1:43 that was set up by Frederick Gaudreau for Gaudreau's second point of the season in as many games.
Nashville pulled Saros, who left with 11 saves. Kevin Lankinen came on in relief, turning aside 14 shots, and Lankinen also struggled against Dewar.
Kaprizov fed a puck to Dewar, who wired it in at 11:12 of the second period before completing the hat trick 9:47 into the third period when a puck caromed in off his skate; video review ruled Dewar didn't kick the puck.
"Not something I expected before the game," Dewar said. "Not something you really ever expect. I don't know if I've had a hat trick since junior, so it's pretty cool."
This was Dewar's first career multi-goal and four-point game; he also assisted on Middleton's goal.
Dewar actually put a fourth puck in the net late in the third on the power play, but the play was called back for being offside.
What it means: Hynes is only the second Wild coach to start 2-0, and his arrival has coincided with some notable changes.
The offense is getting contributions from all over the lineup — 13 players picked up at least a point on Thursday — and special teams have generated momentum for the Wild instead of the opposition. Filip Gustavsson has also looked much more like the goalie who had the second-best save percentage in the NHL last season: He's blocked 49 of the last 51 shots he's faced during his first win streak of the season after 26 saves vs. the Predators.
A tip by Juuso Parssinen at 2:37 of the third period was the only puck that eluded Gustavsson.
That the whole team followed up its best game of the season with an even sharper showing should boost the Wild's confidence; so should the fact this effort came against Nashville, a Central Division rival that was on a 6-0 run.
"We're doing this on the fly," Hynes said. "So every period matters. Every game matters. The practices matter. We gotta try to continue to get better, and that's the mindset that we have."
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
The Wild scored two goals late in the third period to tie the score against the Flames, completing a 2-0-1 road trip even though Kirill Kaprizov didn’t dress.
