Joel Eriksson Ek was the missing piece of the Minnesota – Minnesota Wild puzzle

The Minnesota Wild have turned the page to the new year. Despite their injuries, they found a way to keep the New Year's celebrations going by remaining undefeated in 2025. They did this after losing seven games in December with Joel Eriksson Ek suffering the defeat. injury.

Minnesota lost six games in Eriksson Ek's absence. Although the remaining roster put in solid efforts in the losses, it was once again clear that the team was not the same without their Swedish center. The Wilds record after his return further proves this.

Eriksson Ek returned on December 29 for the 3–1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. It wasn't the ideal return, but Ek immediately helped the Wild to a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on New Year's Eve. He had two power play assists, one of which was the key assist on Mats Zuccarello's goal, which gave Filip Gustavsson his first goal. to help of the season.

While I would like to attribute the success of the Wilds special team to their new power play captain, Gustavsson, credit should go to Ek for reviving an otherwise dormant man advantage. Nashville was just the beginning. The Wild powered through some of the toughest teams in the Metropolitan Division, defeating the Washington Capitals in a 4-3 shootout victory and the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-0 shutout.

Eriksson Ek was essential in these victories, scoring one goal and scored four points in the last three games. His goal also came on the Carolina power play. While his power-play goal (PPG) may not have been the game-winning goal in the shutout, Ek has rejoined the lineup and immediately started fixing some of the Wild's glaring issues: secondary scoring and special teams.

His teammates also appreciate his timing. Before his injury, Eriksson Ek struggled to perform on the power play, with only a goal and an assist. Since his return, he has more than doubled that production, sporting one of the best penalty kills in the Predators and the best the East has to offer. Post-injury, Eriksson Ek was the missing piece of the puzzle that led to enough production for Kaprizov to take time to recover.

Eriksson Ek has not yet emerged from his slump, but is exactly what Ryan Hartman needed to find his game again. Ek recovered the puck on the wall right in front of Hartman broke his 20-game goalless streak. As I discussed in my previous article, Hartman's secondary scoring is crucial to this team's success, but I didn't emphasize how important it is to have a good center among your wingers.

Although the Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Hartman line only scored one goal in the 41 minutes they played together, it won't be together until Kirill Kaprizov returns. When Kaprizov returns, Boldy will likely be moved back to the second line, hopefully reuniting two players who are showing flashes of their old selves. Finding their offense could mean the team will soon have two scorelines they can rely on.

However, Minnesota's second line heated up after Eriksson Eks returned, and with the schedule ahead, they look to continue their production.

With the St. Louis Blues coming to town, there is a perfect opportunity for the Wilds special teams to take advantage of the power play. The Blues have one of the worst penalty kills in the league, ranking 28th, just above Minnesota at 29th. If the Wild can continue to play disciplined hockey and Ek continues to apply pressure on the penalty kill, we could see another goal from downtown.

Marco Rossi's improvement has given the Wild more confidence in the middle, allowing them to continue playing games where they don't have to cheat on offense. That takes the pressure off the defense, which has to play high minutes every night without Jared Spurgeon and Jacob Middleton. Brock Faber has had to take on more responsibility and played more than 30 minutes in the last two games.

Any score that can take the burden off the blue line will allow this team to continue winning while injured. I don't think the hockey world understands what the Wild have done in the last three games and what Eriksson Ek's importance is.

Minnesota has continued to find ways to win while missing its best player and two of its best defensemen. While the team's lineup looks different almost every night, the return of Eriksson Eks, combined with a few players heating up at the same time, suggests the Wild may have found the answers to their prayers.

Do you think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you for it. Just fill in this form.