ST. PAUL, Minn. — The puck didn’t drop until 8:42 p.m. The final horn didn’t sound until 11:13. Outside, the temperature sat at a brutal minus-20 with the wind chill at negative-32. But inside Grand Casino Arena, it didn’t matter.
The building was full. Loud. Engaged. Every seat taken on a night when most people would’ve stayed home without a second thought.
In awe, fans marveled at Quinn Hughes’ nifty moves at the blue line, and in the dzone, and stood for two Kirill Kaprizov goals including the game-winner.
Kaprizov entered the game with just three goals in his last 16 games.
“Yeah, when you don’t score long time, I try don’t think about it, but it’s always sometimes in your head,” Kaprizov said. “But it’s nice to win tonight and score.”
The Red Wings opened the game with a goal on the power play from Lucas Raymond. Minnesota was able to answer with a power-play goal of its own.
You knew it was just a matter of time before Kaprizov scored. Despite being in a drought, Kaprizov had still been pointing up points. He had seven assists in three games on the road trip.
“I mean, he’s too good, where things are going to fall for him,” Hughes said on Kaprizov. “I mean, he’s been on the scoresheet a lot. But I know it’s on his mind to score. I think when you make that many plays, it’s all about just the percentages. If you get, you know, three or four great A’s in a game, sometimes those three are gonna go in and sometimes they’re not. Just stick with the percentages and they should fall.”
Despite the late start and the freezing temps, Wild fans showed up and stuck around for a thriller.
“It’s good to get a win,” said Ryan Hartman, who made sure to point out the effort it took just to be there. “Glad everyone stuck around that late. Obviously these late games are tough for everybody, but with the cold and everything, they still showed up.”
The Wild rewarded that commitment with a win, something head coach John Hynes knows hasn’t always come easily during the recent homestand.
“We were disappointed we didn’t come up with some more wins,” Hynes said. “But for the place to be basically packed and have great energy on a freezing cold night at an 8:42 puck drop — I’m glad we were able to come through for the fans tonight.”
Even opposing players feel it the energy the home crowd brings. Hughes was once an opposing player but now that has flipped. He still calls it what it’s always been.
“A massive hockey market,” Hughes said. “Always loud. Always sold out.”
On a night built for excuses, Minnesota’s fans gave none, all 18,067 of them, and the Wild made sure it was worth it. The Wild now improved to 29-14-9 on the season.
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