When he looks back on his NHL career someday, Vinnie Hinostroza will surely recall February of 2025 as a memorable whirlwind.

Early in the month, the forward was prepping for a demotion from the Nashville Predators — where he played 13 games with two assists this season — to their AHL team in Milwaukee when he got  diverted one state further west.

The Wild claimed Hinostroza, 30, off waivers, bringing him to Minnesota for the past four games. In those games, he has scored twice and has been a threat at the net-front while the team is on the power play.

After scoring on a pretty goal during the Wild’s win in Detroit last Saturday, Hinostroza posted himself at the top of the Red Wings’ crease in Tuesday’s loss and had a point-blank chance during a second-period man advantage that would’ve given the Wild a 3-0 lead if not for a notable save by Cam Talbot.

“He goes to the hard areas of the ice,” Wild coach John Hynes said after the game. “He’s a competitive kid all over the ice. But when he gets into the offensive zone or on the power play, he’s got a knack and a willingness to be able to get in there, and he gets good looks.”

Not overly big, the Chicagoland native is listed as 5-foot-10. But going back to his days with Waterloo in the USHL and two seasons at Notre Dame, Hinostroza has had some success going to the so-called “dirty areas” where goals are scored. In the NHL he has been well-traveled, wearing the colors of Chicago, Arizona, Florida, Chicago again, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Nashville before coming to Minnesota a few weeks ago.

He has taken a philosophical approach to the many transactions on his resume, and said he has been welcomed with the Wild.

“Everything’s day-by-day here in this league, and in this life we live,” he said after a recent Wild practice in St. Paul. “Sometimes it’s hard to go to a new team, but the guys in the locker room and in this organization couldn’t have made it easier for me to come in here. They have a really special group.”

To show he fits in with that special group, Hinostroza scored one of the more special goals that Wild fans have seen this season in Detroit. With a national TV audience watching and the Wild on a power play and trailing 2-0 in the second period, he went to the net front and tipped a Matt Boldy shot. Instead of going in the net, the puck popped into the air where, at waist level, it was swatted by Hinostroza past Talbot.

“I’ve definitely tipped one in before, but not a double tip. That was pretty cool,” he said later. “When I first tipped it, I was like, ‘Oh, it better go in, five-hole or something.’ And then I see it hit (Talbot) and then I saw it floating there, it wasn’t dropping, so it was like on a tee for me, so I just put it in there.”

‘Ovie effect’ schedule tweaks

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin now needs a dozen goals to become the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader, surpassing Wayne Gretzky. That means everywhere the Caps play in March, there will be notable attention paid by fans and the media.

With Washington scheduled to visit the Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, March 27, there have been two changes made to next month’s schedule and TV coverage plans.

This week, the Wild announced that their Tuesday, March 11 home game versus Colorado will start at 7 p.m. CT as planned, but FanDuel Sports North will cover the game, which was originally slated for national TV.

The Caps’ game in Minnesota on March 27 will now begin at 6:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes earlier than originally scheduled) and will be carried nationally by ESPN+/Disney+/Hulu.

Briefly

Edmonton claimed Travis Dermott off waivers on Wednesday, a day after the Wild tried to clear him to go back to AHL Iowa. The Wild had claimed him off waivers from the Oilers.

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