Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsRon Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports The 2023-24 NHL regular season ends in seven days. Several Stanley Cup contenders are vying for top seeds and favorable playoff matches, while other teams are looking to head into the postseason with a couple of extra wins. In the regular season’s second-to-last power rankings, let’s see how the NHL landscape has changed in a week, with so many teams playing meaningful games in the final days of their campaigns. Related: NHL Award Predictions 2024: Picks for Presidents Trophy, Hart Trophy, Rookie of the Year, and more NHL Po ..read more

Credit: Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman is facing another suspension after throwing his stick toward officials after Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety scheduled a phone hearing with Hartman on Monday for unsportsmanlike conduct. Hartman, 29, apparently was upset that Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin was not penalized for high-sticking him late in the third period. After Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault’s game-ending empty-net goal in OT, Hartman tossed his stick in the officials’ direction ..read more

Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Jonathan Marchessault scored an empty-net goal with 1:30 remaining in overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn. Michael Amadio also scored for Vegas (41-25-8), which increased its season total to 90 points and strengthened its playoff positioning. The Golden Knights improved to 5-0-1 in their past six games. Kirill Kaprizov scored the lone goal for Minnesota (35-28-10, 80 points). The Wild, in a desperate move to try to gain two points for a playoff push, pulled their goaltender fo ..read more

The Minnesota Wild will try to increase their point streak to six games when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn. The Wild are coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. Minnesota improved to 4-0-1 in its past five games, and it has lost only one game in regulation in March. “We’ve got to keep building,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “This isn’t enough, and there have been stretches where we’ve won three, four games in a row, had a good 10 games in a row, and then fell back. “Obviously, we can’t afford to fall back at this time ..read more

Joel Eriksson Ek’s goal broke a third-period deadlock and gave the Minnesota Wild a 5-2 road victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in Tempe, Ariz. The Wild are on a two-game winning streak and are 9-4-1 since the All-Star break. Mats Zuccarello assisted on all three Wild goals, and the forward sparked the winning tally with a takeaway. Zuccarello sent the puck into the high slot for Eriksson Ek, who buried a well-placed wrist shot at 7:16 of the third period. Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Hartman had two assists. Kirill Kaprizov, Zach Bogosian and Connor Dewar scored Mi ..read more

Torey Krug scored a goal and earned an assist to lead the St. Louis Blues past the visiting Minnesota Wild 3-1 Saturday. Alexey Toropchenko and Jake Neighbours also scored for the Blues, who snapped their three-game winless streak. Jordan Binnington made 21 saves to earn his 138th career victory, which moved him into third place on the Blues’ all-time list behind Mike Liut and Jake Allen. Jon Merrill scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the Wild, who lost their third straight game. Minnesota lost forward Marcus Johansson to a first-period injury after playing just 2:47. The Blues str ..read more

Six points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with just 23 games left to go, the Minnesota Wild depart on a critical two-game road trip that begins Thursday night against one of teams they’re trying to catch, the Nashville Predators. The Wild also visit St. Louis, which entered Wednesday’s games tied with Minnesota in the Central Division standings with 62 points. Six teams were within seven points of each other for the two wild-card spots that Los Angeles and Nashville currently hold with 68 points. Calgary (63), the Blues (62), the Wild (62) and Seattle (61) were still ..read more

Stefan Noesen scored the go-ahead goal with 8:58 remaining in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes held on for a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in St. Paul, Minn. Jordan Staal finished with a goal and an assist for Carolina, which snapped a two-game skid. Andrei Svechnikov also scored. Connor Dewar and Jonas Brodin scored for Minnesota. Ryan Hartman collected two assists for the Wild, who failed to win their third straight game. Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 28 of 30 shots to earn the victory. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson turned aside 25 of 28 sho ..read more

The Minnesota Wild aim for a season-best fifth win in a row when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in St. Paul. Minnesota has matched its season high with a four-game winning streak. The Wild have notched victories over the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes by a combined margin of 13-7. The Wild’s new-look top line has been a big reason for the team’s recent hot streak. Coach John Hynes shuffled his lines and placed Matt Boldy with Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov on the first unit. “They’re playing with hard skill,” Hynes said. “When ..read more

TORONTO – Don’t let Kirill Kaprizov and his preference to rely on a translator fool you. When the Minnesota Wild forward from Russia is so moved, he can communicate quite effectively in English. For instance, when asked Thursday if Wild teammate Brock Faber will win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year this season, Kaprizov understood the question and needed no help answering. “I hope so!” Kaprizov enthusiastically told Sportsnaut here at NHL All-Star Media Day. Through his translator, Kaprizov then explained why the 21-year-old defenseman deserves consideration with 33 games remaining ..read more