With power play time, Marcus Foligno becomes Wild's early scoring leader

Nobody on the Wild has dished out more hits than Marcus Foligno, and the winger is a regular on the penalty kill.

But that's not all Foligno has provided the team.

He's also one of the leading scorers.

"My checklist before games is to just make sure my work ethic's there and do the right things, and I know offense will follow," Foligno said.

A strong defensive forward, Foligno has delivered at the other end of the rink to fulfill his top-six billing and skate as a two-way force that's been vital to the Wild's success this season.

"Impressed? Sure," coach Dean Evason said. "Surprised? No. He's taken his game to another level. We always knew his grit, his physicality, his fighting, is fabulous. But we've seen his skill set. He's put into a position now to score goals, and he's doing that. But he's not sacrificing the other end. He's not staying on the perimeter. He's still involved."

With four goals through nine games, Foligno is tied with center/wing Ryan Hartman for tops on the Wild.

The 30-year-old is also pacing the pack in points; he and winger Kirill Kaprizov each have a team-high eight — the most productive start to a season Foligno has had since he became a full-timer in the NHL.

"I'm a little bit fortunate by way of playing some power play time," said Foligno, who has already capitalized twice in his new assignment on the power play while currently playing with center Joel Eriksson Ek and winger Kevin Fiala at even strength. "That does give you an extra boost in the stats, but you also gotta make hay with it when you get that opportunity."

Not only has the 6-3, 226-pound Foligno done that, converting on an eye-popping 36 percent of his shots, but he's contributing at significant times.

All his goals have come in Wild victories.

After supplying the game-winner with 7.2 seconds left to lift the Wild (6-3) past the Ducks 2-1 in the season opener on Oct. 15, Foligno helped the team overcome Winnipeg 6-5 in overtime on Oct. 19 by scoring in the third period.

Then, on Tuesday, he had his most impactful game yet: two goals, six shot attempts and three hits (pushing his overall total to 25) during a season-high 19 minutes, 28 seconds in the Wild's 5-4 overtime win vs. Ottawa at Xcel Energy Center.

This performance came after Foligno expressed disappointment in the team's leadership group when asked about the veterans stabilizing the Wild following the 4-1 loss at Colorado last Saturday.

At the time, the team had dropped two in a row and was without some key players while relying on call-ups from the minors. Those absences lingered into this week, and the Wild utilized the same personnel against the Senators. But this time, the outcome was different.

Foligno, who was named an alternate captain before the season, is one reason why.

"Whenever you talk the talk, you gotta walk it," Foligno said. "I take pride in that. I just think that there's more offense to be had. But it starts with more aggressiveness, and I just felt like my game wasn't really there.

"It's nice to have it back and I take pride in it, and it's good to rebound."