Getty Images The Minnesota Wild entered the season amid high expectations thanks to their off-season acquisitions of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. They also attracted plenty of skeptics who wondered if they had the depth or chemistry to excel in their first season with their newest superstars.
Nothing has been decided yet, but Minnesota fans have plenty to be happy about after starting the season with a 2-0-0 record.
Suter and Parise have certainly done their part early on. Parise provided the lone goal in Minnesota’s 1-0 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday and had a pair of assists in the season opener. Suter is still searching for his first point, but he’s already logged a staggering 50:12 minutes with the Wild.
Still, it would be a gross exaggeration to suggest that they are the sole reason the Wild are off to a hot start. Dany Heatley and Mikko Koivu have found success early with Parise, rookie Mikael Granlund has already netted his first goal, and the Wild’s goaltenders have done their part.
The question now is if they can build off of their early success and how they will handle themselves when they face more highly regarded teams like the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 27. There’s no question that they still have a lot of work ahead of them, but they couldn’t have asked for any more this weekend.
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The Detroit Red Wings are “very close” to signing star forward Pavel Datsyuk to a “multi-year” contract extension, MLive.com reports (by way of Datsyuk’s agent Gary Greenstin). “Me and Ken [Holland] and Pavel (are) very close,” Greenstin said. Datsyuk’s Twitter feed teases as much, as this message from Monday suggests. Big day tomorrow… — Pavel Datsyuk (@Datsyuk13)…
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Hawks’ Smith goes from lunch with mom to playing for Hossa
Jun 18, 2013, 12:02 AM EDT
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Just a “wild night” for a Black Ace.
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AP
Odd timing, but big news.
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Led by Patrice Bergeron, who scored a goal and was practically unbeatable in the faceoff circle.
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Dennis Seidenberg: “It feels like sandpaper.”
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“It’s a low-chance game and a low-chance series,” he said.
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Joel Quenneville said it was “definitely not good.”
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He was a game-time decision for Game 3.
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A masterful performance by Boston.
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Nathan MacKinnon says Sidney Crosby opened doors for small-town players
Jun 17, 2013, 10:15 PM EDT
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Both are much-hyped forwards from Cole Harbour, Novia Scotia.
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Video: Jagr sets up Bergeron, moves ahead of Coffey on all-time playoff scoring list
Jun 17, 2013, 10:10 PM EDT
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He owns fifth place with 197 points.
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Big results for his line with Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly.
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Does that mean it could fall through?
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Big (and surprising) loss for the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Chris Mason’s amazing beard couldn’t mask lousy numbers.
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Multiple sources expect buyouts for Ilya Bryzgalov and Daniel Briere.
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23-year-old was the club’s second-round pick in 2008.
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Reports: Vigneault gets five-year, $10 million contract to coach Rangers
Jun 17, 2013, 5:04 PM EDT
AP
Former Canucks bench boss cashes in.
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Just five days after acquiring him from the Islanders.
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Interesting, given he’s probably going to get traded this summer.
