Wild’s Zuccarello exits game Monday after big hit
The Minnesota Wild picked up a key victory on the road by a 4-1 margin over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night, but they lost a crucial member of their forward group in the process.
Veteran winger Mats Zuccarello left the game after just 5:32 of ice time as the result of a hard hit from Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn that caught him high. As he fell, Zuccarello appeared to absorb much of the contact with the ice in the head area.
Dunn was not assessed a penalty for the hit, as it appeared to primarily catch Zuccarello on the shoulder, but both Dunn and Wild forward Danila Yurov took two-minute roughing penalties when Yurov responded to the hit. The Minnesota rookie was assessed an extra two-minute roughing minor for his role in the scrum.
Another look at the huge hit on Zuccarello 😵
Vince Dunn NAILED Mats Zuccarello and all HELL broke loose 😱💥
Zuccarello, a 38-year-old veteran in his 16th NHL season, had 12 points in 15 appearances since making his season debut after an injury held him out for part of training camp and all of October. On November 28, the Oslo native recorded his 700th NHL point.
Minnesota’s win on Monday was important as it marked a bounce back effort from two losses to two of the Western Conference’s weakest teams in the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Offense was hard to come by for the Wild in those two defeats, as they mustered just one goal in Calgary and two in Vancouver. Zuccarello figured in on both tallies against the Canucks with a goal and an assist in the 4-2 loss.
With the win, the Wild gained more separation over the Utah Mammoth, extending their lead for the third-place spot in the Central Division to six points with a game in hand over Utah while running their record to 16-9-5.
With a four-game road trip now in the rearview mirror, Minnesota returns to St. Paul for a four-game home stand that kicks off on Thursday night against the second-place Dallas Stars.