Zuccarello was key to the Wild’s victory – one game away from the club record
The Minnesota Wild have had a mixed start to the NHL season and at home against the Edmonton Oilers, it was the away team that held a 3-2 lead after two of three periods.
But in the third act, it was Wild who led the show. In just 38 seconds, Ryan Hartman equalized for the home team assisted by Zuccarello. The Norwegian received a pass from Kirill Kaprizov and elegantly directed the puck to Hartman, who from close range was his own safety.
Six minutes later it was Zuccarello himself who got the chance. The Norwegian was the first to encourage an Oilers miss, before quick play from teammates Hartman and Kaprizov made it easy for Zuccarello to score the opener.
After a goal-rich end to the period, the Wild ultimately won the game 7–3. His three teammates Hartman (two goals and three assists), Kaprizov (three assists) and Zuccarello were also named three stars of the game by the NHL.
For Zuccarello, Wednesday’s score means he has now had two goals and seven assists in his first six games. The nine goals so far this season are the most on a Wild team along with the aforementioned Joel Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov.
The Norwegian has scored in six matches so far. In doing so, he tied Pavol Demitra and Chris Stewart as the player with the second-longest streak of games with a goal from the start of a season in Wild history. Only Andrew Brunette has the longest streak, when in the fall of 2009 he scored in all of the first seven games. In this way, Zuccarello can touch the club record in the away match against the Philadelphia Flyers, Friday night.
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