ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild’s top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello came alive in the third period Tuesday night with three goals after a slow start to the season.
The Wild hope the same will happen for their third line of Marcus Foligno-Marco Rossi and Freddy Gaudreau soon.
But when will now depend on Gaudreau's injury status. The 30-year-old versatile forward is out with an upper-body injury and didn't travel to Philadelphia for Thursday night's game, the team announced Wednesday. So for now, the line is on hold.
The trio of Foligno, Rossi and Gaudreau have also had a slow start and have one goal through six games.
What needs to happen for the line to unlock some offense?
“I think it’s important to stay like patient — you can’t lose that,” Rossi told The Hockey News after Monday's practice at Tria Rink. "I mean, first of all, it’s good that we get the chances…and, of course, it’s sometimes frustrating as a forward because you want to help the team to score goals and win.
“And, I mean, we know we have a lot of chances and like today before the practice, we were talking about that and we were just saying, ‘we have to stay patient, and it’s going to come.’”
Gaudreau has zero points through six games. Foligno had one assist in the first five games before scoring an empty netter Tuesday night against the Oilers. Simply put, the Wild need more production from this line.
That hasn't happened so far, but it's not because of a lack of chemistry or communication, Rossi says, and the amount of offense they've generated gives them confidence.
The trio will look to add some depth scoring when Gaudreau returns to the lineup and reunites with his line.
Rossi, who has two goals so far and had a third one overturned due to offsides, is off to an encouraging start and has been a bright spot. The 22-year-old spent his summer training in Minnesota and looks like a completely different player.
“I think I did a good job,” Rossi said of his summer, “and I can see that right now that I feel really comfortable on the ice.”
At five-on-five, the Wild have had about 48 percent of the shot attempt share and 46 percent of the expected goal share with the Foligno-Rossi-Gaudreau line on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. The line has also been outscored 2-1.
Numbers wise, it’s been the Wild's second best line, and head coach Dean Evason has liked what he’s seen from them in the first six games.
“They’ve been real good,” Evason said. “They’ve done a lot of things for us in all areas of the game. You’re right, it hasn’t produced maybe on the score sheet yet, but we feel that they’re real close.
“They’re getting good opportunities, good momentum for the hockey club. They’ve been a real strong line for us.”
Related Video: Wild Prospect Report
Note: The video incorrectly says OHL; Riley Heidt plays in the WHL.
Related Reading: The Hockey News had an exclusive one-on-one conversation with Heidt at development camp in July, where he discussed everything from last season, the NHL Draft and his emphasis on becoming a complete player.