The Minnesota Wild held on for a road win in their regular-season opener.
Now, the Wild will look to keep up their good start going with a victory in their home opener.
Minnesota will take the ice in front of its home fans when it faces the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn. The Wild will play their first non-preseason game at home since the second round of last season’s playoffs, when they were eliminated in five games by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference semifinals.
The roster largely is intact from last season but includes a few new faces such as forward Blake Coleman, defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Maxim Shabanov. Coleman scored a goal in the Wild’s 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday, and coach John Hynes noted that the new arrivals already have made a difference.
“I thought all three of those guys picked up where they left off,” Hynes said. “I thought they had strong camps. They played to their identities (at Nashville) and impacted the game positively. It’s nice to see new guys come in and get their footing right away.”
Meanwhile, Boston will try to make it two wins in two nights on the road. The Bruins outlasted the Winnipeg Jets for a 4-3 overtime victory on Friday, their second consecutive triumph to start the season.
The Bruins could turn to Michael DiPietro for his season debut one night after Jeremy Swayman stopped 30 of the Jets’ 33 shots.
DiPietro has appeared in only four NHL games — one each in the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2025-26 seasons — and is searching for his first victory. He is 0-2-0 with a 5.01 goals-against average and a .780 save percentage for the Vancouver Canucks and the Bruins.
One skater to watch for Boston is 19-year-old forward James Hagens, who scored his first NHL goal on Friday night against Winnipeg. The Bruins selected Hagens, a Boston College product, in the first round in the 2025 draft (No. 7 overall).
Hagens tallied one assist in two games with the Bruins last season before making the team out of training camp this season and notching his milestone goal on Friday.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Hagens said.
Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (1-0-0, 1.01 GAA, .950 save percentage) is expected to make his second straight start after earning a victory in the season opener. He has yet to oppose the Bruins in his four NHL seasons.
On Thursday, Wallstedt stopped 19 of 20 shots and was part of a dominant effort on the penalty kill, where Minnesota fended off four power plays.
“It was very, very good,” Wallstedt said. “I like our ‘PK’ a lot. Guys were sacrificing themselves. There’s no quit. …
“I like the aggressiveness a lot. I like that we try to not give them any set plays (on opposing power plays). We try to put them under pressure and make sure they have to make stressful plays to kind of force their mistakes.
“Obviously, there’s going to be breakdowns sometimes and they’re going to get scoring chances, but that’s what I’m there for.”
