RALEIGH, N.C. — Playing defense at the highest levels of hockey requires patience. Jump too quickly at a loose puck and you risk exposing your goaltender to a breakaway by one of the skilled and aggressive forwards on the other team.

For Wild defenseman Carson Lambos, just getting to the NHL has required plenty of patience, as well. Called up by the Wild on New Year’s Day following the lower body injury suffered by Minnesota captain Jared Spurgeon, Lambos, who turns 22 later this month, joined the Wild in Washington, D.C., and may make his NHL debut on Saturday when Minnesota visits the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lambos was the 26th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft while playing major junior hockey in his hometown and skating part of one season in Finland. Meeting with reporters at the Capitals’ rink after his first morning skate with the Wild, he admitted that after being picked in the first round, he thought his road to the NHL would be shorter.

“It’s a process. I think earlier, after I get drafted, you wanna play right away — right away,” Lambos said. “But then I think my mindset sort of shifted to take it one day at a time and just be where my feet are and get … as good as I can every day with the opportunities I have.”

Lambos has logged 27 games with the Iowa Wild this season, often paired with Cameron Crotty, and has two goals and five assists for the AHL club so far. Wild general manager Bill Guerin said that Lambos was one of the best options the team had for a defensive call-up while they wait for veterans Spurgeon and Jake Middleton to return from injury.

“He’s played well. His game’s improved over the last year and a half. He’s put his time in. He’s playing the right way,” Guerin said. “I think this is a good opportunity. We could have called up a number of guys, but he’s really taken a step. It’s nice to see.”

While Guerin has been singing Lambos’ praises for some time, the defenseman said that blocking out distractions, good and bad, has been a key to his on-ice success this season.

“I try to not listen to the noise and stuff like that. I’ve felt pretty confident with my game this last month. I really felt like I’ve stepped up and been an effective player down there and I’ve stepped into a pretty big role with our team,” Lambos said. “So, I think that’s a good sign when you’re getting more ice and more opportunities that something might be coming here.

“But with all that said, you can’t really expect or think you deserve anything just because of how I’m playing down there.”

Growing up in Winnipeg, where the Jets are immensely popular and a hard-bitten Central Division rival of the Wild, Lambos admitted with a smile that he wasn’t too fond of Minnesota as a kid, but all of that changed on draft day in 2021.

Faber relishes facing a legend

Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin got one step closer to the NHL’s all-time goals record on Thursday, scoring on the Minnesota Wild in the second period for 871st time in his career. That leaves him 24 shy of eclipsing Wayne Gretzky’s league standard. But the Wild won the game, 4-3 in a shootout.

Holding the Russian wonder to just one goal, in a road victory, is a notable accomplishment for Minnesota.

Like most hockey players of a more recent generation, Wild defenseman Brock Faber grew up marveling at Ovechkin’s skills, style and swagger. Hours before the first faceoff in downtown D.C., Faber acknowledged getting a little extra jump in the step when he sees the “Great 8” on the ice.

“He’s one of, if not the greatest goal scorer ever, and maybe ever will be. It’s one of those things. For me specifically … I looked up to him. Who didn’t?” Faber said. “When he was younger in his career, and the yellow laces and just the style and the swag he brought to the game and being so loved around the league, it’s, again, one of the coolest things in the world to play against guys like him.”

If they’re both healthy, Faber and Ovechkin will square off again later this season when the Capitals visit Xcel Energy Center on March 27.

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