Wild Decide To Run A Five Forward Top Power Play Unit

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild debut its new top power play unit against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. It included five forwards.

Heading into the game on Thursday the Wild's power play had been struggling a bit. So they decided to change things up. 

"The power play’s been struggling a little bit. I think just having a left shot up there, it is a big difference the way that we run it. It basically runs a lot off Zuccy’s side," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "I think Boldy's a very good shooter, so put him in some positions. Try and put your best shooter in positions to be able to shoot on the power play. He feels comfortable being up there. And I just think that the hands work really well together, particularly sometimes on a power play, depending on what side you run it off the most. Ideally there’s hands that matter."

The biggest reason why they wanted to not have a defenseman on the unit is because they wanted a left-handed shot to run the point. With Declan Chisholm hurt and both Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber as right shots, the Wild put Boldy on the point. 

"Yeah, first time I've ever been up there. The first power play we didn't really get in there too much, and then the second one, kind of having a little bit up there," Boldy said on running the power play at the point." But you know, you just adapt, I think. Playing half wall, I feel like I played it for a while, you kind of know what you like and when the 'D' kind of make plays and move up there so that was kind of my mindset. But honestly, it was pretty simple. Get up there, pass it to Zuccy or Jojo and shoot it if I could. I'm definitely no Cale Makar up there."

The different look on the power play ended up turning into a goal. Boldy fired a shot from the point and Freddy Gaudreau tipped it home. 

"You got Boldy up top, lefty, who’s a shooter. He can one-time it, he can shoot like he shot it today. And then you got Johansson over on the one-timer and you have a lefty ready combo at the net front and right in the slot," Hynes said. "So just a little bit of a different look but more of something that we felt would probably be more ideal than sometimes even having a right shot up, not that the right shot guys didn’t do a good job, but sometimes on a power play the hands and the positions, they really do matter because they open up different options for you."

We will see if it sticks for the time being with no Kirill Kaprizov or Joel Eriksson Ek still. As of now the five forward unit is Boldy, Marcus Johansson, Mats Zuccarello, Marco Rossi, and Gaudreau.