San Jose Sharks vs. Minnesota Wild Pick & Prediction APRIL 9th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Minnesota Wild have a chance to secure a spot in the playoffs in a highly competitive Western Conference.
Their main objective now is to avoid any major setbacks in their final four games of the regular season.
According to Wild forward Marcus Foligno, "It's been a tough journey, but we're thrilled to still be in control of our own destiny."
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Minnesota (42-29-7, 91 points) will be looking to improve their playoff chances as they face off against the San Jose Sharks (20-47-10, 50 points) on Wednesday night in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Wild are coming off a 3-2 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, putting an end to their four-game winless streak. They will play one home game before hitting the road for two games against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Injured forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek participated in five-on-five contact drills during practice on Tuesday, which is a positive step towards their return to the ice. Kaprizov has been out of action since January 26th, while Eriksson Ek has been sidelined since February 22nd.
Wild coach John Hynes stated that it is too early to determine if either player will be able to play on Wednesday. He also mentioned that this was the first time they have taken part in five-on-five contact drills since their injuries.
Minnesota has relied on Matt Boldy (26 goals, 41 assists) and Marco Rossi (24 goals, 34 assists) in the absence of Kaprizov.
One player who will definitely not be playing is defenseman Jake Middleton, who sustained an injury during Friday's game against the New York Islanders. Middleton did not participate in practice on Tuesday.
As the Wild prepare for the return of some key players, the Sharks have five games left before their offseason begins. San Jose is currently on a six-game winless streak, with their opponents outscoring them 29-10 during that span.
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Macklin Celebrini leads the Sharks with 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) in 65 games during his rookie season. William Eklund follows with 55 points (17 goals, 38 assists) in 72 games, and Tyler Toffoli has 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) in 73 games.
"I'm just trying to improve every day and learn from watching my teammates," said Celebrini.
San Jose may turn to either Alexandar Georgiev or Georgi Romanov in goal. Georgiev has a record of 15-25-2 with a 3.69 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage this season, including 18 games with the Colorado Avalanche. Romanov has a record of 0-4-0 with a 4.02 GAA and an .873 save percentage.
The Wild have the option of starting Filip Gustavsson (30-18-6, 2.54 GAA, .915 save percentage) or Marc-Andre Fleury (12-9-1, 2.78 GAA, .903 save percentage).
Hynes did not reveal the starting goaltender after Tuesday's practice. He did mention that Fleury, who is in the final year of his incredible career, will likely get some playing time this week.
The 40-year-old Fleury currently ranks second all-time with 573 career wins in 1,048 games.
"We will discuss it and possibly make a decision tomorrow," said Hynes when asked about Fleury's next start. "We have a back-to-back coming up. If things go well and we make it to the next round, he will definitely be a part of that. He is a veteran player who understands the situation and is a true competitor. He will definitely see some action this week."
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San Jose Sharks vs. Minnesota Wild Recap APR 9TH 2025
Kirill Kaprizov scored one minute into overtime, Joel Eriksson Ek netted four goals and the Minnesota Wild escaped with an 8-7 win over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Both players celebrated remarkable returns from prolonged lower-body-injury absences for Minnesota (43-29-7, 93 points), which won its second game in a row. Kaprizov finished with two goals and an assist in his first game since Jan. 26.
Eriksson Ek, appearing in his first game since Feb. 22, produced the second game of four-plus goals in Wild history. Marian Gaborik logged five goals against the New York Rangers on Dec. 20, 2007.
Minnesota's Matt Boldy recorded four assists.
Rookie Macklin Celebrini notched his first hat trick and tallied two assists for San Jose (20-47-11, 51 points), which lost its seventh game in a row (0-5-2). Will Smith had one goal and three assists for the Sharks.
Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 574th career victory despite allowing seven goals on 31 shots. The contest likely marked the final regular-season start on home ice for Fleury, who has said this is his final campaign.
Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev took the overtime loss after giving up eight goals on 44 shots.
Minnesota led 7-6 in the final minute of regulation before the Sharks scored to force overtime. San Jose pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker, and Smith ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to make it 7-7 with 52 seconds remaining.
Smith's goal marked the third in a row for San Jose, which trailed 7-4 early in the third period. Nikolai Kovalenko trimmed the deficit to two when he scored with 15:16 to go, and Celebrini brought the Sharks within 7-6 when he capped off his hat trick with 9:58 remaining.
The score was tied at 2-all when Eriksson Ek scored his first goal of the game with 12:13 to go in the middle frame.
The Sharks rallied to grab a 4-3 lead after back-to-back goals by Carl Grundstrom and Celebrini midway through the second.
Kaprizov tied the score at 4-all on a power-play goal with 2:58 left in the second. Then Eriksson Ek struck with three goals in a row -- a power-play tally in the final minute of the second period, another power-play marker 1:02 into the third period and finally an even-strength goal at 2:06 of the third.