By Tony Abbott -
As poorly as the Minnesota Wild have played through much of the season, 2023-24 always had the makings of a career year for Joel Eriksson Ek. The ever-improving Swedish center followed up a career-high 61-point season with a hot start, potting 14 goals in his first 26 games. He more or less kept that scoring up, entering Monday's action on-pace for a 38-goal, 68-point year.
And then Monday happened.
Yes, nearly all of the Wild's top players were at their best in Monday's bonkers 10-7 (not a typo) win over the Vancouver Canucks. Kirill Kaprizov notched a hat trick and six points. Mats Zuccarello scored a goal en route to a four-point night, and Matt Boldy had a goal and three assists, including a pass that bounced off Eriksson Ek's skate directly into the goal.
With all due respect to the rest of the Wild's top power-play unit, Monday was Eriksson Ek's game. Pairing a hat trick with another three assists is simply absurd. While Kaprizov did the same thing, he got that last goal by sinking an empty-netter in the final seconds while up two. We're all for padding stats -- run up the score and get those Dolla Dolla Bills -- but that's the deciding factor that tips it Eriksson Ek's way.
After Monday's simultaneous comeback and thumping against the Presidents Trophy leaders, the Wild are (maybe) back in the playoff race. They finished the game just two points behind the St. Louis Blues with the same number of games. Arguably, the biggest reason for their recent surge is that Joel Eriksson Ek has gone Sicko Mode all over the league.
The Wild were seven points out of the playoffs entering February 12's action. But they went 3-1-0 and almost made up that entire gap in the week since. Eriksson Ek's stat line in those games? Seven goals, six assists, 13 points.
We're talking about some massive, crucial goals, too. Eriksson Ek broke a 1-1 tie against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period, then sealed the game with an empty net in a 5-3 win. He got Minnesota on the board against the Arizona Coyotes and fed Boldy for the assist on an insurance goal minutes after Logan Cooley drew the 'Yotes within one. Eriksson Ek knotted the Buffalo Sabres game almost instantly after Casey Mittelstadt broke a scoreless tie to open up the third period.
Then there was Monday, where Eriksson Ek had a hand in four of the five goals Minnesota scored to tie the Canucks. His third goal didn't only secure his hat trick, it gave his team the lead, which they wouldn't relinquish.
Let's broaden our focus a bit now. The Wild have a 9-3-1 record since a 6-0 shutout loss to the Coyotes that currently serves as the low point of Minnesota's season. What has Eriksson Ek done since then?
No big deal, he just scored 13 goals and 23 points in 13 games, precisely matching the superstar Kaprizov. Only Auston Matthews has scored more goals in that time (16), and the only players to edge him in points are Hart Trophy candidates Connor McDavid (26) and Matthews. He's tied with Matthew Tkachuk and sitting above the likes of Nathan MacKinnon (10 goals, 22 points), Nikita Kucherov (8 goals, 22 points), and David Pastrnak (9 goals, 20 points).
Eriksson Ek isn't at that level of play, but it doesn't matter. He's put the Wild on his back and been a horse, dragging Minnesota from draft lottery territory to within inches of a Wild Card spot. Eriksson Ek pulled a reverse-Avatar. When the Wild needed him most, he became That Dude.
With Eriksson Ek elevating his game, how much higher can he fly down for the Wild's last 27 games? Being on-pace for 38 goals entering Monday put him on 40-Goal Watch. Forget that noise. Bump that pace up to 42 now, which makes this a 40-Goal Warning. Add him now having 51 points in 55 games, and Eriksson Ek is now on track for 76 points, giving him a shot at being an 80-point player.
Eriksson Ek will almost certainly cool off from this current streak. He's averaging a goal and 1.77 points per game; it can't last to this degree. Still, Eriksson Ek has all the tools he needs to keep putting up big numbers over the final stretch.
For one, he's (mostly) playing on the Wild's top line with Kaprizov and Boldy. We know how well Kaprizov is doing, but Boldy is also blisteringly hot on that top line. He's been a vital part of Kaprizov and Boldy's success and has multi-point games in four of his last five outings. That, combined with his net-front role on a power play that's singing with Zuccarello and Brock Faber in charge of it, ensures he'll keep getting plenty of scoring chances.
As it stands, Eriksson Ek is already tied with Chris Kreider and Jonathan Marchessault for 14th in the NHL in goals. That isn't a small-sample size bump; we're two-thirds of the way into the season. Entering February 16, Eriksson Ek was fifth in the NHL with 29.9 expected goals, according to Evolving-Hockey. You might look at his 13.8% shooting percentage and think, that's a touch high. Wrong. Given his chances, luck appears to have taken two goals off his total, even after the hat trick.
The Wild needed something extraordinary to get them back into contention. They got it in the form of their dominant center completely balling out for a baker's dozen worth of games. It's impossible to ask for anything more than what Eriksson Ek's given his team, and Minnesota's best hope of making the playoffs again is to let this magic continue for as long as possible.
All data via Stathead unless otherwise mentioned.
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