The Wild have been pleased with the strides made by center Marat Khusnutdinov, who, in his first full season, has proven himself to be a speedy and reliable defender who can occasionally move into the third line.
But they’d like more from the young Russian, specifically goals — as soon as possible.
ADVERTISEMENT
Head coach John Hynes is looking for more offense from a lot of his players, particularly with leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov set to miss at least another month after surgery to repair a lower-body injury. The Wild’s two games before Saturday’s puck drop at Ottawa — wins at Toronto and Montreal — were a good sign.
Second-year wing Liam Ohgren and depth forward Devin Shore both recorded their first goals of the season in a 4-0 win against the Canadiens, and Shore and Jakub Lauko added assists. In Toronto, Khusnutdinov scored for just the second time this season.
That’s a lot of fourth-line offense for two games.
“The thing I like most about that line, though, is you know they obviously have some goals, but they’re bringing so much energy to the team and they’re a hard group to play against,” Hynes told reporters before Saturday’s game. “I like the job they’re doing, even if they didn’t score (in) a couple games. The good thing is they are doing it and they are scoring; they’re doing truly what you need that line to do.”
Khusnutdinov, 22, played just his 66th NHL game on Saturday since moving on from Russia’s elite Kontinental Hockey League at the end of last season.
“We needed more from throughout our lineup, you know, and he certainly has the ability,” Hynes said. “But he’s playing a more tenacious game, he’s playing fast. He’s harder on pucks. He’s playing with a little bit of an edge to his game.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Injury update
The Wild have one more game on this road trip, Tuesday at Boston, before they return to Xcel Energy Center for a pair of games that will take them into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Aside from Kaprizov, the team has been without forward Marcus Johansson (upper body) and defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body), both of whom are on injured reserve. Hynes was asked if he thought the latter two might be available to join the team in Boston.
“There’s a possibility,” he said. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll probably get further information on that, but because we’ve got the day off (Sunday), then a practice day, I think we’ll see where they’re at. There’s a possibility.”
Hynes said both players are skating in Minnesota.
______________________________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
The Trust Project
