By this point in any given hockey season, you pretty much know what you’re going to get when a team takes the ice. The key players are well established, the systems are in place and you figure everyone is going to play their role on any given night.

But this season, with less than a dozen games remaining on the schedule, Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes has thrown in a new wrinkle. In Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals, the Wild went 1-2 on the power play, while using five forwards on the man advantage for the first time this season.

Late in the second period, Matt Boldy moved from his normal spot on the wing to man the blue line, and from there he unleashed a shot that Freddy Gaudreau tipped on the way to the Capitals net for the game-tying goal. It was a rare new wrinkle to Boldy’s game that he maybe wasn’t expecting.

“First time I’ve ever been up there…But you know, you just adapt, I think,” Boldy said, after a one goal, one assist game and a key two points earned. “You know (from) playing half wall, I feel like I played it for a while. You kind of know what you like when D make plays and move up there so that was kind of my mindset. But honestly, it was pretty simple. It was, get up there, pass it to (Mats Zuccarello) or (Marcus Johansson) and shoot it if I could, so I’m definitely no Cale Makar up there.”

Wild coach John Hynes said the small adjustment is one that was facilitated by the power play needing a boost, and Boldy’s left-hand shot fitting the role on the point with an opponent in the penalty box.

“The power play’s been struggling a little bit. I think just having a left shot up there, it is a big difference, the way that we run it,” Hynes said. “It basically runs a lot off Zuccy’s side. And I think Boldy’s a very good shooter, so put him in some positions. Try and put your best shooter in positions to be able to shoot on the power play. He feels comfortable being up there. And I just think that the hands work really well together, particularly sometimes on a power play, depending on what side you run it off the most.”

Perhaps the only complaint Boldy had was the dearth of advice he’s gotten from the team’s defensemen, who find themselves getting a two-minute break while the power play is working.

“Nothing, Crickets,” Boldly said with a smile.

Still, with the Wild’s new-look power play clicking at a 50 percent clip versus one of the NHL’s best teams, look to see more of the same in the season’s last nine games.

David Jiricek’s season is over

The challenges of the 2024-25 campaign were many for Wild defense prospect David Jiricek, and the final one – a serious injury – brought his year to an abrupt end. On Friday, the team officially announced that Jiricek’s season is over.

A few days after he turned 21, Jiricek was traded to the Wild from Columbus, where he had been a top 10 draft pick in 2022. He spent most of his time with the organization in Iowa, but got a half-dozen games at the NHL level for Minnesota, recording a goal and an assist. He was recalled by Minnesota on March 1, then sent back to Iowa 20 days later without seeing game action. In Saturday’s game for the Iowa Wild, Jiricek suffered a lacerated spleen and will not play again this season.

“I really feel for him. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for him, starting in Columbus and then coming here and going up and down,” Hynes said. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance for him. But that’s kind of how it goes. You gotta play the cards.”

Ovechkin farewell gesture touching for Fleury

As the backup goalie, your job when the game ends in a win is to offer congratulations and high fives, then head to the locker room. Marc-Andre Fleury had done the first part on Thursday night, and was about to head off the ice when defenseman Zach Bogosian told him to wait.

Washington star forward Alex Ovechkin had been Fleury’s chief nemesis when the goalie skated for the Pittsburgh Penguins early in their respective careers, and in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final when Ovechkin’s Caps beat Fleury’s Golden Knights for the NHL title. With Fleury retiring at the end of this season, Ovechkin wanted one last chance for all of the Capitals to shake Fleury’s hand.

“I always love to hate Ovi because we had so many battles with the Penguins and a few playoff series and even in the seasons, with him and Sid (Crosby) it was always a big deal, always a big game,” Fleury said on Friday following the Wild’s lightly-attended optional practice. “I feel lucky and fortunate I got to play so many games against him and compete against him.”

Of the 889 goals Ovechkin has scored, 28 of them have fooled Fleury, which is the most of any goalie he has faced. But Fleury fondly recalled thwarting an Ovechkin breakaway with a glove save in game seven of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals, on the way to Pittsburgh winning one of Fleury’s three career Stanley Cups. In another 2017 playoff game, Fleury deflected a net-bound Ovechkin shot with the knob of his stick, drawing any angry stare from the Russian star.

When they hugged at center ice after Thursday’s game, Ovechkin thanked Fleury for all of the great battles over the years, and asked the goalie if he was absolutely sure he wanted to retire.

“Because I keep giving up so many goals to him,” Fleury said with a laugh.

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