Wilderness Walk: Playing it safe

Sometimes you just need to play an extremely boring game to get two points. Our Minnesota Wild visited the Columbus Blue Jackets last night and after scoring two goals in the first period just coasted through the final 40 minutes, playing some solid defense and earning the win.

It was a safe game and not all that exciting, but it got the job done.

Since the Colorado Avalanche did not play last night, the Wild get to jump into third in the Central division and are creeping up on the top spots.

That’s Wild

• Oh, well look at this here. The Wild were involved in another three-team deal where they retained some salary and got a draft pick out of it. This time they helped Dmitry Orlov join the Boston Bruins. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Is Filip Gustavsson having the best goaltending season in Wild history? [10K Rinks]

Off the trail...

• How Florida Panthers winger Anthony Duclair is aiming to bring hockey to the Haitian community. [ESPN]
• The Nashville Predators already seemed to not be good enough to participate in the race for the playoffs, but now they lose top center Ryan Johansen for 12 weeks. Woof. [NBC Sports]
• It might not seem like a good idea to trade your 22-year-old winger that had a very good year last season and is just having some bad luck, but the Philadelphia Flyers might trade Joel Farabee. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Why the New Jersey Devils are the NHL’s most intriguing team ahead of the trade deadline. [Yahoo Sports]