Last night something had to give as the Kings visited the Wild riding a six game win streak, while the Wild had their own four game steak in tact. In the end it was the Wild who prevailed with the 3-1 victory to extend their streak to five.

During this Wild run they have started quickly in the first period, which was once again the case last nightbas they did all of their scoring in the opening frame. There were long stretches where the Wild looked dominant, however the Kings did not go silently and if it was not for the strong play of Cam Talbot, who returned from the COVID-19.

Jeff Carter broke the shutout with just under three minutes to play, and the Kings pressed to the Wild until the final horn sounded. Give kudos to Todd McLellan and his team as they made the in game adjustments and Jonathan Quick was sharp in the Kings net after it looked like the Wild would run away with this one after the dominating first 20 minutes.

The Wild better be ready tonight as the Kings look to get back in the win column and knock the surging Wild back down. As for the Wild they are a confident bunch as they are getting production from up and down the lineup. Back to backs present their own challenges and this year that is magnified with most of those contests facing the same opponent.

Last night we witnessed another outstanding performance from Kirill Kaprizov, who is making highlight reel plays nightly. He is as good or possibly even better than advertised. The long wait to see Kaprizov in a Wild sweater appears to be worth it. So on the ice the results are simply amazing, but what about this kid and his new mates?

I think that was summed up by Ryan Suter in his post game zoom interview. Suter joked throughout how Kaprizov's English is far better than he lets on to the media and that he is truly a great kid. Suter showing a lighter side, smiling, and joking tells us a lot more about this Wild team that makes them far different from anything we have seen here in years.

Today is officially Hockey Day in Minnesota, as we celebrate the great game in a scaled down version of the annual event which was to have taken place in Mankato back in January. There will be no live high school or college games today, but Matt Dumba's Hockey Without Limits Camp which provides greater opportunity for children to be able to play hockey.

The camp will be led by Wild coaches and today will feature youth players from the Herb Brooks Foundation, The Hendrickson Foundation, and the New Directions Youth Ministry. The day will conclude with the Wild hosting that Kings at the XCEL Energy Center tonight.

Should be a fantastic day here in the State of Hockey.

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