ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two games don’t make a season, but two games into the season, it’s clear two injuries have had big ripple effects on the Minnesota Wild lineup.

Mats Zuccarello is sidelined after having surgery on a lower-body injury. Nico Sturm is also expected to miss six to eight weeks with a back injury.

Zuccarello showed up to camp hurt. Sturm was hurt on the first day of camp.

But if Zuccarello was on the first or second line, checker Marcus Foligno wouldn’t be on the second. He’d be on the third line with Ryan Hartman and Marcus Johansson, and Yakov Trenin would be on the fourth line with Sturm and Vinnie Hinostroza or one youngster — Liam Ohgren or rookie Danila Yurov.

Now Foligno is on the second line, Trenin on the third and the Wild are using two kids — Ohgren and Hunter Haight — on the fourth line with Hinostroza.

The Wild are 1-1 after Saturday’s disappointing 7-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the tough L.A. Kings coming to town before a five-game road trip on the horizon.

As they say, buckle up because general manager Bill Guerin may have to address the sudden depth concerns the injuries have caused.

It’s a small sample size, but here are some observations from the first two games:

The second line’s a problem

Zuccarello’s injury is as big a problem as we thought it was going to be.

Foligno is a great player in a certain role, but when he was cast in the top-six to start the season after not playing a shift there in the preseason, you knew the Wild were grasping at something after Johansson, Ohgren and Yurov didn’t earn the spot.

The Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Vladimir Tarasenko line has no points and just nine shots at five-on-five. Tarasenko, the one-time star, has been MIA.

While they weren’t as analytically bad as they were measured in St. Louis, and they didn’t give much at all Saturday, there’s still hardly a memorable scoring chance generated by the trio.

“I think we got to be a little bit more connected on the forecheck, just trying to turn some more pucks over and kind of grind teams down low, and hang out around pucks down low, and just try to use our D,” Ek said. “Crashing the net. We’re three big bodies, so I think that’s what we’ve got to do.”

Coach John Hynes acknowledged that the coaches are already discussing how to handle the situation, but it’s a good bet he’ll shuffle things up at Monday’s morning skate before playing the Kings.

Yurov was scratched the first two games, but we could see him in the lineup. The question is whether Hynes would throw him into the spot or maybe use Johansson, who played in the top-six all of last season. But on the road, this could become an issue, so while Hynes probably doesn’t want to separate Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy after they combined for six points in two games, he may have to spread things around.
“That’s something that we talked a little bit about and felt that a little bit in the game tonight,” Hynes said. “Whether that’s splitting that (second) line up or trying some different combinations there, it’s something we’ll look at.”

Faceoffs continue to be an issue

This is not a shock because the Wild are perennially one of the league’s worst in the faceoff circle. But after winning 29 of 54 in St. Louis for a 54 percent winning percentage, Minnesota was demolished in the faceoff circle Saturday.

This is where Sturm’s back injury hurts. He has turned into one of the best drawmen in the NHL, and that’s a big reason why the Wild brought him back as a free agent.

Despite scoring four power-play goals, they won 7 of 20 faceoffs (35 percent, 3 of 10 in the first period on two wasted power plays) and 16 of 43 at even-strength (37 percent).

Overall, they won 26 of 71 (37 percent).

“I couldn’t really get any rhythm going today,” said Ek, who won 7 of 21 (33 percent). “So look at it and see what I can do better, (like) just timing with the ref and all that stuff.”

Marco Rossi also only won 6 of 21 (29 percent), while Hartman has won 17 of 26 in two games (65.3 percent). There’s no doubt the Wild are losing 50-50 pucks, like the one Haight lost en route to Columbus’ sixth goal, but Ek said it’s the centers that are in there, and they have to bear down.

Hynes said Ek and Rossi “have to be better,” but added that “faceoffs are a big part of the centermen, yes, but I also think there’s a lot of 50-50 pucks, too, in the faceoff circle that your wings and your D also have to help and touch the puck first.

“That line of scrimmage, yes, it’s the center, but it’s also a lot of 50-50 pucks that are laying around. We have to win some of those.”

Wild are going to ride the ‘Bus’

Filip Gustavsson joked the other night — after his impressive shutout over the Blues in the season opener — that he had a rough game after a gem in the opener two years ago (a 7-4 loss in Toronto after a 2-0 blanking of the Cup champion Florida Panthers).

“I hope to have a better second game (this time around),” he said.

Well, the results were the same (a 7-4 loss to Columbus), but that doesn’t mean the Wild need to worry about their clear-cut No. 1. There were some plays Gustavsson would like to have back, most notably the second goal, he said. But there were also some “weird” ones, as Hynes mentioned, and Gustavsson’s game (and mindset) are in a healthy place going into a season where he’ll be relied on heavily.

“Games like this are on and off,” he said. “You don’t do anything. We had a lot of power plays, so you just stand there. And then they had a few power plays, and it’s just on and off, no real flow to the game.”

The Wild feel it was worth the investment to lock up Gustavsson to his five-year deal ($6.8 million AAV). And how far they go will depend a lot on the Swede. But with the condensed schedule, they’re going to need to give Jesper Wallstedt a good chunk of games, including two this week. Can Wallstedt give them a boost Monday before the back end of a back to back and the start of a five-game road trip?

Buium is a ‘work in progress’

There’s a lot to be excited about with Zeev Buium, whose playmaking skills and skating ability should provide a spark to the power play. And you’ve seen flashes of that, especially on the rookie’s first career goal in the third period, when Buium pinched down to the left circle after his initial shot and fired another in.

“You see the talent that’s out there … I think it’s just reading off of them,” Buium said. “You’re not always just playing your position. You’ve got to be comfortable being anywhere. So for me, it’s just trying to have a little bit more of a shooter’s mentality.”

bringing the Buium!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/mAUwOLNWfo

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 12, 2025

But Buium has also likely made the coaching staff nervous with some of his plays with the puck on the power play Saturday. There were a few sloppy passes on zone entries, and one instance where a puck slipped through him at the blueline. The fact that Buium was a minus-4 Saturday wasn’t necessarily reflective of him struggling mightily defensively (one minus came on an empty-net goal), but he’s still working through his game and figuring out what he can do and what he can’t at this level. Hynes called him a bit of a “work in progress.”

And some adjustments are expected with Buium playing such a meaty role, quarterbacking the first power play and joining captain Jared Spurgeon in the second pair. Only Matt Boldy (25:24) logged more ice time than Buium (24:39).

“I think I’m just finding my game, my flow, and within the team,” Buium said. “The guys are great, and it’s so easy to kind of pick off things with them, and any questions or anything, anyone can answer them. So it’s been good. I think we’ve been playing good, but just didn’t get the result tonight.”

Kaprizov-Boldy toying with opponents

Two games into the season, the Wild’s offense, not shockingly, centers around the greatness of the Wild’s two highest-paid forwards — Kaprizov and Boldy.

Boldy has two goals and four assists. So does Kaprizov.

And their chemistry, especially on the power play, has been fun to watch. They’ve been so good, you still feel they’ve left some offense on the ice with their 17 combined shots.

Buium is enjoying the view from his spot on the No. 1 power play.

“It’s incredible,” Buium said. “I mean, I think you never are confused if they don’t pass to you. Like Bolds was holding it on that five-on-three, but you know he’s holding it for a reason, and you know he’s gonna do something. We don’t know exactly what, but you know something is gonna happen.

“So I think for me, it’s like, I trust those guys more than I trust myself. So trying to put them in good spots.”

KAPRIZOV 2-2 pic.twitter.com/Axsr8basqN

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 12, 2025

Ryan Hartman an ‘impact player’

With the way Hartman performed in the playoffs — and he might have been the Wild’s best forward not named Kaprizov or Boldy — it was going to be interesting to see if he could carry it over.

So far, Hartman certainly has.

Hartman has been a play-driver offensively with two goals and 11 shots on goal in two games. He’s been responsible defensively, making smart decisions and reads. He’s been a pest to the other teams and has kept his composure. He’s won 65 percent of his draws. There’s a swagger to his game (ask Erik Gudbranson, who was ticked off at the Wild center rubbing his delay of game penalty in).

Hahahahahahah he is such a rat I love him pic.twitter.com/z20u3wSMjM

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 12, 2025

Hynes had talked about how, with Sturm out, they’d need other centers to step up. And he brought up Hartman, noting what kind of “impact player” he could be when he’s on his game.

Is what Hartman is doing sustainable over the course of the season?

“It should be sustainable because it’s a conscious choice to play that way,” Hynes said. “If you have a player that turns it on, turns it off, that’s a choice. It’s not an ability issue, right? It’s a conscious choice to play with the right intentions and play the game the right way. And do that consistently. And when you do that, now you’re really making an impact as an individual player and a player as a team.”

Special teams have been solid

Yes, yes, yes, we know, this is a small sample size.

But the Wild’s power play has connected five times in two games, and their penalty kill has been scored on once on five attempts, and that was a five-on-three Saturday.

What’s funny is that the first two power plays in the first game and the first two power plays in the second game were atrocious, but when the Wild needed to score, they absolutely did.

MATT BOLDY pic.twitter.com/MByyp0Ed1f

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 12, 2025

One big reason why the Wild’s penalty kill has been good is the play of Rossi and Boldy. The team is doing this without Sturm, who was supposed to be one of the big factors in fixing what has been the 30th-ranked penalty kill in each of the last two years. Brock Faber has also been terrific on the PK, but overall, the units have done a great job stifling zone entries, having good sticks and clearing the zone. And in St. Louis, Gustavsson was tremendous.