Wild land atop the NHL, their success vastly different from last season despite a similar challenge

The battle for first in the NHL is underway.

After failing to get closer to No. 1 Winnipeg on Monday, the Wild finally caught up to the Jets for the most points in the league with 36 after securing their first statement win against the Central Division by ditching Nashville 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night for their third consecutive victory.

‘If you told me we’d be in this position come end of last season, I don’t know if I would believe you,” alternate captain Marcus Foligno said, “but here we are. So, a lot of work has got put into this this season.”

The last time the Wild had the most points in the NHL actually wasn’t that long ago.

They were in first place on Dec. 9, 2021, with 39 points from a 19-6-1 clip through 26 games. That was the Wild’s most successful regular season in franchise history, the team finishing with the most wins (53) and points (113) before crumbling in the first round of the playoffs against St. Louis.

Not only are the Wild on track to break those records, but how they’re succeeding also suggests this roster might have better staying power — potential that makes last season’s woes look more like an aberration.

“It’s a lot easier this time around,” Foligno said. “At the 20-game mark last season, it felt like it was 80 games into the season, and it was miserable. So, when you’re having fun, when you’re in tight spots in the game, that confidence is just there. You don’t panic, and that’s what happens when you’re a winning hockey team.”

In distancing themselves from the debacle that was last season, the Wild continue to do the opposite of what made them slump early, fire the coach and not advance to the playoffs.

While the results have been vastly different — the Wild were just two games into John Hynes’ tenure and had only seven wins on this date a year ago — the adversity has been similar.

Injuries have tested and continue to test the Wild, but these absences haven’t crippled the team like they did previously.

Instead, a rover like Declan Chisholm hasn’t missed a beat alongside captain Jared Spurgeon on defense while Jonas Brodin has been out, Jon Merrill has slid in seamlessly on the third pairing, and a makeshift fourth line featuring call-ups Devin Shore and Ben Jones has provided the Wild with quality shifts with Jakub Lauko and Mats Zuccarello hurt.

“We worked together with management to try to put together some depth on the roster that when you get into injury situations, guys are able to play and they can fill those roles,” Hynes said. “The team is playing with collective effort and collective structure, and I think that allows guys to be able to come in and play.”

Their leaders have lived up to their billing, beginning with goaltender Filip Gustavsson and superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

Gustavsson’s 11 victories are third in the league, while his 2.05 goals-against average and .929 save percentage are first. This is also the best Kaprizov has performed in a Wild uniform, his 38 points after picking up a goal and assist vs. the Predators pacing the NHL and making him the early MVP favorite.

“The more competitive the game, the more competitive he gets,” Hynes said. “The more he plays, the better he gets, and you saw [Saturday]. It was a tightly contested game, rivalry game, and he finds a way to make a huge difference and that’s who he is.”

But getting a veteran like Spurgeon back has also been key.

The defenseman has helped turn the Wild into the stingiest team in the league after hip and back surgeries sidelined him for the second half of last season and Spurgeon sat out six games in October to continue to heal.

“He looks like he hasn’t lost a step out there,” Chisholm said. “He’s one of the fastest guys on the team. He’s making a smart play with the puck more times than not, and he’s a threat most times in the O-zone, too.”

Perhaps the biggest sign the Wild have changed, though, is how consistent they’ve been.

They’ve won three in a row twice, and their longest streak this season is four games, which they can match when their homestand ends Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The Wild are the only team in the NHL that hasn’t lost two straight in regulation, and they haven’t dropped more than two games in succession.

In October, that’s a hot start.

By November, a trend.

But at the beginning of December, it’s proof the Wild are who they are, a team contending for the top spot in the league.

“We don’t get too satisfied with a win, but we also don’t get too down after a loss,” Hynes said. “We’ve kind of gone into more of a businesslike approach. Every game is kind of the same process. If we do lose a game, it’s onto the next one and let’s grab the lessons out of this one and be ready to go for the next one, and same thing if you win.

“We’ve won a lot of hockey games, too, but I never felt that the team’s come in and they’re kind of feeling good and they’re loose. They’re just focused.”