Although Wednesday night’s clash between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks in the Windy City was the definition of low-event hockey, Brock Faber continued his electric rookie campaign in style.
The 21-year-old picked up an assist on Marcus Foligno’s game-winning goal with 10 minutes remaining in the third period. The Wild would end up winning 2-1, and Faber — with his 26th assist and 30th point in just 50 games — tied franchise history.
“Brock Faber had an assist and has 30 points (four goals, 26 assists) in 50 games this season, tying Filip Kuba (2000-01) for the most by a rookie defenseman in Wild history,” wrote NHL.com’s Bruce Miles on Thursday. “Faber’s 26 assists are also tied for the most in a season by any rookie in Wild history.”
It’s been a phenomenal campaign for the youngster, who is looking like the legitimate No. 2 to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Although Chicago Blackhawks superstar rookie Connor Bedard hasn’t played a game in over a month, he remains the favorite with 15 goals and 33 points over his first 39 games.
Still, what Faber is doing in 2023-24 is seriously impressive, especially considering the absence of captain Jared Spurgeon on the blue line for the rest of the year.
Wild win not pretty, but necessary
After losing their final two games before the All-Star break, the Wild badly needed a victory against the lowly Blackhawks. And they were able to get the job done, although the game was a lot closer than the squad would have liked.
“It wasn’t pretty today,” goaltender Filip Gustavsson said after making 20 saves. “The second period was very bad for us. Then in the third, we just found a way to win today. It wasn’t pretty. It’s not the best. It wasn’t what we should do. We’ve got to learn from it tomorrow. Watch the video. Take the two points from this game and leave it there.”
Minnesota head coach John Hynes was also happy with his team’s ability to shake off a bad second period and finish strong in the third.
“We had good first period,” the bench boss explained. “Then we came out and we got outcompeted, outskated, outexecuted in the second period. You can’t win hockey games like that. We had passengers, particularly in the second period. In the third period, we were better. The good thing is we won the game, which is important, but we’ve got to be much better collectively as a group moving forward here.”
With the victory, Brock Faber and the Wild improve to 22-23-5 but remain in second-last place in the Central Division. The work continues — with five points separating them from a wildcard berth — on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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