SEATTLE — The big hit on Mats Zuccarello in the first period certainly changed the feel of Monday night’s Wild-Kraken game.

Vince Dunn’s huge open-ice hit on Zuccarello with five minutes left in the first period dropped the veteran winger to the ice. Dunn, the Kraken defenseman, went in for a shoulder-to-shoulder hit, but he made contact with Zuccarello’s head. Zuccarello skated off on his own but didn’t return.

Wild coach John Hynes said afterward that Zuccarello is “doing okay” but didn’t know his timeline.

Dunn hit on Zuccarello pic.twitter.com/5jPq7soJdy

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) December 9, 2025

Danila Yurov and several other teammates, including Kirill Kaprizov, rushed to Zuccarello’s defense. Yurov dropped his gloves and got a double minor for roughing. Dunn didn’t get a major, just a two-minute roughing penalty.

“It’s a hard hit,” Kaprizov said. “I just hope he’s feeling good and can play as fast as he can. I don’t know, it’s tough.”

The Wild were ticked off. And they had to play with just 10 forwards the rest of the game. But at the end of a tough, four-game, seven-day trip, Minnesota showed a lot of guts in finding a way to pull out a 4-1 win at Climate Pledge Arena.

They had lost three of the last four, including two in a row to bottom-dwelling teams like Calgary and Vancouver. So it felt good to wrap up the trip 2-2.

“We dug in there,” Marcus Johansson said. “I think we showed a lot of character and grit today, and it was a fun game and a big two points.”

Johansson scored the winner eight minutes into the third on a slick re-direction of a Joel Eriksson Ek pass. Eriksson Ek, the No. 1 star of the game, had a goal and two assists. Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko added empty net goals, and Filip Gustavsson was steady, making 10 of his 23 saves in the third period.

The Wild struck back against Dunn — Ryan Hartman tried to initiate a fight with him in the final 10 seconds of the first period. But, for the most part, Minnesota stayed composed, not going over the line.

“I liked our response in the fact we played hard and played smart,” Hynes said. “That’s what you want to do in those situations. Answer with a little physicality of our own, but that competitive nature that makes this team good, and I thought we brought that.”

Zuccy takes a big hit and Yurov immediately drops the gloves pic.twitter.com/H1N70ZkwRk

— 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) December 9, 2025

The Wild matched their goal total from their previous three games combined. They’ve struggled with their secondary scoring for a good part of the season, but Monday’s recipe could be a way out. Eriksson Ek’s goal came from right in front after a great pass by Matt Boldy, while Johansson went to the net for his redirection. Kaprizov said sometimes you need those “heavy” or “garbage” goals to get an offense going.

Hynes lamented Saturday in Vancouver that they had seven and a half minutes of offensive zone time but not enough high-danger chances and didn’t get to the inside. On Monday, they flipped the script.

“I thought in general we had more of an offensive style of game we needed in the O-zone,” Hynes said. “Screens, tips, shot-mentality. Played more to the interior.”

Zuccarello wasn’t the only Wild player to get banged up: Jake Middleton also didn’t look right on the bench late. Nico Sturm and Boldy got hit by pucks, with Sturm initially leaving for a stretch. Boldy left with about a minute left, but Hynes thought he was okay.

“Some of those are stingers; guys need a little bit of time,” Hynes said. “But as you know, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring when everyone wakes up.”

The Wild are already missing Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno and Vinnie Hinostroza, none of whom made this trip. But Minnesota made the Kraken pay for the Zuccarello hit — on the scoreboard.

“It sucks to see a player get hurt like that, he’s a huge part of our team,” Eriksson Ek said. “We can’t be stupid either and try to run around and take penalties, that’ll take you out of the game. I think we responded well. Getting the win is probably the biggest thing. But we want to stand up for ‘Zuccy’ too.”

Eriksson Ek shines

This might have been Eriksson Ek’s best game of the season, and he was a very deserving No. 1 star. The shutdown center was active all night, especially on the forecheck and in front of the net. He was the driver leading to his goal, first stealing the puck just outside the blue line, then going to the net and finishing a slick centering feed from Boldy.

12 ➡️ 14 pic.twitter.com/hPInRD3xMj

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 9, 2025

Eriksson Ek also assisted on the next two Wild goals and won 50 percent of his draws (9-for-18).

“I thought he was excellent,” Hynes said. “Really solid in all facets. Nice to see him get on the board because he’s played some really solid hockey, but tonight he was at a high level.”

Freddy’s familiar foes

Freddy Gaudreau got to face his former Wild teammates Monday for the first time since he was “shocked” by the June trade to Seattle. Gaudreau didn’t get to meet up with old teammates Sunday night, but feels like he’ll always be connected to the core group in Minnesota.

“A lot of people I love over there, a lot of really good memories, so that never changes,” Gaudreau said. “But it’s just another game, and my only focus is on my job and what I can do to help my team.”

Gaudreau missed a month earlier in the season with an injury, but his impact on the Kraken goes beyond his one goal through his first 13 games.

“Just an extremely professional character, human being,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s got one thing in mind is team first, and he wants to win. That’s just the way Freddy is. He’s been outstanding for our group.”

Caught up w/ Freddy Gaudreau for our recent @FOTRshow podcast. Talked about his career, his ‘beautiful’ chapter with #mnwild, feeling at ‘home’ with @SeattleKraken. And what made the core group in Minnesota special
Spotify https://t.co/FNIvpXnpbE
YouTube https://t.co/cwQIMoBX7x pic.twitter.com/hTC9pxODYg

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) December 8, 2025

Talking about practice?

It did seem strange that the Wild didn’t practice at all during this trip. Hynes said there were many factors, with strength and conditioning coach Matt Harder and his staff having input.

“I think at this point you take everything into consideration,” Hynes said. “The travel, the game schedule. A lot of times, when we look at it, it’s not just that little segment what led up to the trip and what is coming after the trip. It’s pretty well planned with our strength and conditioning guys as well. Mental and physical preparedness for the game. You have to account for travel and things like that. It’s always a combination.”

The Wild played three games in five days leading up to this trip, and will have three games in four days starting Thursday. Tuesday is a travel day, and Wednesday is a day off.

Odds and ends

• Yakov Trenin continued his strong play — he was a beast all night with nine hits and four shots. He also had a goal in Thursday’s game in Calgary. “

He’s playing really solid,” Hynes said. “I think (Trenin) has played really solid all year. But as of late, maybe the last 5-10 games, he’s really come on strong and his physicality, puck plays, skating, impacting the game in multiple ways.”

yak in THE HAT pic.twitter.com/ZDprMlgG2P

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 9, 2025

• The Kraken thought they tied the game after Johansson’s go-ahead goal in the third. Tye Kartye swatted in a rebound, but the referees ruled and confirmed via review that the Kraken forward’s stick was above the crossbar.

“I got a little worried,” Gustavsson said. “I thought it hit my shoulder and went straight up and then hit me again,” Gustavsson said.

Gustavsson didn’t get tested much early, and the Kraken didn’t get their first shot on goal until the 12-minute mark. But he was sharp when the Wild needed him to be in the third, especially on a Shane Wright wrister from up close when the game was 2-1.

“He was great,” Johansson said of Gustavsson. ” He was calm, doing his thing out there, so it was fun to see.”

• The Kraken, scoring eight seconds into their second-period power play, snapped a streak of 24 straight kills for the Wild. Meanwhile, Minnesota is in a 2-for-22 funk on the power play after going 0-for-3 Monday.