ST. PAUL, Minn. — Well, that was a shame.
Not just the blown point by the Minnesota Wild when they cannot afford any blown points these days, but the blown storyline on what should have been a storybook debut and banner finish for newcomer Declan Chisholm.
After having to bide his time for four games before finally playing for the first time in a Wild sweater and only for the fifth time in an NHL sweater, the rookie defenseman’s first NHL goal was 37 seconds away from being the game-winner before the Buffalo Sabres ruined … absolutely everything.
Filip Gustavsson couldn’t smother Tage Thompson’s point shot, Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber couldn’t box out both Jordan Greenway and Dylan Cozens as they whacked away at the rebound and the Sabres tied a score in the final minute of the third period for the first time in nearly three years before winning, 3-2, in overtime.
“After I scored that goal, I just wanted the game to end right there so we did get the win,” said Chisholm, who was claimed off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 29. “Weird wave of emotions. Obviously super happy to score that goal. It’s probably the best feeling I’ve ever had playing hockey. But it sucks to lose, and you really want to win that game.”
In Greenway’s return to Minnesota since last year’s trade to the Sabres, the 2015 Wild second-round pick was a centimeter from the vengeful equalizer until Cozens ensured the puck got over the goal line by sweeping it over as it slowly trickled. Gustavsson, who went save for save with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the first two periods, felt he should have gotten a whistle from the referee, claiming, “I had it for five seconds” in the “triangle between my pads.”
JORDAN GREENWAY TIES IT WITH 35.8 SECONDS LEFT IN HIS RETURN TO MINNESOTA! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/HL09rL75rj
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) February 18, 2024
If Gustavsson indeed had the puck frozen, the replay showed it certainly wasn’t anywhere close to five seconds. And after the game, coach John Hynes’ only gripe with the goal was how the Wild defended it.
“Six-on-five is a little bit different than five-on-five regarding how and when you box out,” Hynes said. “I think we could have played that situation a little bit better. Obviously don’t like the end result, but like everything, you have to look at how we can be better in those situations the next time they arise.”
On a poorly-played three-on-three in overtime when the Wild fired the puck out of the zone for an odd-man rush, Henri Jokiharju scored 89 seconds into the extra session to end the Wild’s four-game point streak. At this point, the Wild will take every point they can get, but after two days of getting almost no help in the standings, the Wild wasted a chance to move within three points of St. Louis, which was defeated by Nashville. However, the glass-half-full folks will note being four points back is better than five had the Wild lost in regulation.
The Wild still have points in eight of the past 10 games (7-2-1), have played well since the break and must find a way to brush this latest disappointment away with a huge week coming up with consecutive back-to-backs against Western Conference powers Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton and then finally Seattle.
We know we need points. Yeah, it’s tough right now.”
“It sucks,” said Joel Eriksson Ek, whose 25th goal in the third period answered former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Casey Mittelstadt’s goose egg-snapping goal in the first minute of the third. “We know we need points. Yeah, it’s tough right now. (But next week) is a good challenge for us. Those are the teams we want to be able to play against.”
It’s just one game, but Chisholm, a pending restricted free agent hoping to find a home in Minnesota after being healthy scratched almost all season by Winnipeg, looks like he could be a keeper at 24 years of age.
As advertised, he skates well, has great offensive instincts and has the vision, playmaking ability and shot to quarterback the second power-play unit. After Jake Middleton drew his second double minor in four games, Chisholm gave the Wild a 2-1 lead with 8:39 left on a 56-foot wrist shot.
Minnesota Wild Debut: ✅
First NHL Goal: ✅What a day for Declan Chisholm #mnwild pic.twitter.com/RYYG3z5xar
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) February 18, 2024
Goal or not, Hynes liked what he saw from the Ontario native.
“He played a really good game,” Hynes said. “You could see his skating was evident (and) his puck play. He looked good on the power play, but that’s one component. Five-on-five, I thought he moved the puck well, and he had good gaps. He’s a good skater, so he’s confident in his skating so I think his gaps are good on rush defense and things like that. I thought he played hard in the hard areas where you have to defend so it was a good first game for him.”
As Hynes alluded, Chisholm only gave up one five-on-five shot off the rush in 14:46 of ice time while paired with Jon Merrill.
It was surprising how little rust Chisholm showed considering he hadn’t played since Dec. 4 and his 2023-24 action consisted of two NHL games and six AHL games.
“Bunch of adrenaline getting in there,” he said. “I was just super hyped to get back in the lineup and play. I like to play fast-paced hockey and jump up in the rush, so I thought I was doing that right away. I wish sometimes in the game I was hanging onto the puck a little longer to make maybe a better play instead of just going with the simple play all the time. But that was what I wanted to do right off the bat and I just didn’t want to make too many mistakes.”
Chisholm said it wasn’t hard waiting for his opportunity. He knew he needed practice time after a hectic arrival in Minnesota after spending the bye week and All-Star break in Miami, then having to return to Winnipeg to pack up much of his life as he awaited a work visa. Plus, the Wild kept winning, so he was almost shocked to debut Saturday after a four-game win streak.
“I was just trying to get to know everyone and learn the systems,” he said. “So I was just happy to bide my time and work hard in practice and then be ready for the time when it came.”
One can assume he has earned another shot Monday against Vancouver and then likely in a Winnipeg homecoming Tuesday night. As much as Chisholm hopes to help the Wild earn a playoff spot, he also knows these finally couple months of the season is his chance to prove his worthiness to Hynes and the Wild brass so he has an inside track to make the team out of training camp in the fall.
The Wild’s top-four defense is set with Jared Spurgeon, Brodin, Faber and Middleton, but the third pair is wide-open next season. Other than Daemon Hunt, none of the Iowa Wild blue-line prospects look on the verge of making the team. While it’s possible Zach Bogosian is re-signed, that third-pair left D spot could be available with Alex Goligoski’s contract about to expire in Minnesota and Merrill potentially the seventh defenseman or Iowa-bound if the Wild want to stash most of his $1.2 million cap hit in the minors.
“I just want to do as much as I can to help the team win and then also just grow my game,” Chisholm said. “I think if I can string together a few games here, hopefully get some more confidence and make some nicer plays, I’m excited for the future. And I hope they are too.”
The Wild will practice Sunday, and Monday’s lineup will be interesting. Hynes hasn’t been happy with the Brandon Duhaime–Ryan Hartman-Freddy Gaudreau line, so he swapped centers against the Sabres in the second period by moving Connor Dewar between Duhaime and Gaudreau and Hartman between Jake Lucchini and Vinni Lettieri with the hope of spurring the lines along.
Didn’t work, so we’ll now see if Mason Shaw will make his season Wild debut.
Regardless, the Wild need to flush the way Saturday’s game ended and focus for a monster week.
“We can’t beat ourselves up with that one,” Gaudreau said. “It’s hockey. And we wanna get all the points, always. But then once the game is over, you’ve just gotta move forward. It’s been a good stretch lately and we can’t get negative because we lost a point. We just gotta keep building on what we’ve done well lately.”
(Photo: Nick Wosika / USA Today)
