Wild's defensive prowess gets offensive boost from variety of goal scorers

NASHVILLE — The Wild's knack for preventing offense used to be its trademark.

Now, the team's ability to fill the net is defining it.

After Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno capitalized in the 5-1 victory at Washington on Sunday, the Wild became only the third team in the NHL this season to have six 20-goal scorers, joining Florida and St. Louis.

This is also the most players to tally 20 or more goals in any Wild season, a shift indicative of the talent on the ice but also an all-hands-on-deck philosophy.

"We play a style of game that allows everybody to get involved in the offensive structure," coach Dean Evason said. "I think that contributes a little bit. But you have to have people that are able to do it, too. So, I think our organization has done a nice job to identify that that's something we needed, and we're fortunate to have had it for the most part this season."

Leading the way is Kirill Kaprizov with 40 goals and 87 points. The franchise season record for goals is shared by Marian Gaborik (2007-08) and Eric Staal (2017-18) with 42.

Not only is he on pace to break that mark, after already passing Gaborik in points (83 in 2007-08), but the attention Kaprizov merits from the opposition can create opportunities for his linemates and players elsewhere in the lineup.

And with the team's other top producers such as Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Fiala also flexing their skills in the offensive zone, the Wild has the kind of scoring depth possessed by only a few NHL teams.

"That's why he's so special," Foligno said of Kaprizov, "because he gets picked on every night in the way of 'We gotta shut down this guy,' and yet he still goes out and produces. He's just brought that other element, that superstar quality to our team, and teams now have to look over their shoulder because it's not just Kirill. There's a lot of guys."

Jon Merrill joined the Wild on the road after staying behind when the team left last week, but the defenseman didn't face Nashville and is also unlikely to play Friday when the trip concludes at St. Louis.

Merrill is out because of an upper-body injury, although he did skate Tuesday morning. So did rookie Matt Boldy, who is also dealing with an upper-body injury. Like Merrill, Boldy — who turned 21 on Tuesday — missed a third consecutive game.

Since Boldy has been sidelined, Nick Bjugstad has made a smooth transition back into the lineup after sitting out the previous seven games before his return last Saturday at Carolina.

Bjugstad has been centering the fourth line, the first time this season he's played up the middle, and Bjugstad was especially sharp on faceoffs Sunday, winning 11 of his 13 draws.

"Some nights it goes for you, and some nights it doesn't," said Bjugstad, who also had an assist vs. the Capitals. "It seemed to be working the other night. You kind of take mental note of what went well and why it was going well.

"I've been taking a lot of faceoffs in practice, so you try to stay ready for that and [it's] obviously an important part of the game. If I can bring that into my game and help out in that area, I'll do that as much as possible."