The Minnesota Wild were victorious in their season opener on Friday night, getting a late goal from Marcus Foligno to pick up a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
It took a while for the Wild to get their bearings but the blood got pumping when Max Jones came in hard on Cam Talbot late in the first period. While Foligno skated in to throw some haymakers, a couple of shots after he was separated put Anaheim on the power play to open the second period.
Foligno seeing red. pic.twitter.com/1cLeaXB6Hv
— Ryan Carter 👃 (@Ryan_Carter22) October 16, 2021
The penalty came back to haunt the Wild when Jakob Silfverberg put a wraparound past Talbot 17 seconds into the second period. Although Anaheim had an early lead, the Wild had their chances but looked flat on a pair of power plays.
Minnesota found paydirt on its third attempt, however, as Kevin Fiala scored off a rebound to give the Wild their first goal of the season.
Fiala PPG ties it, 1-1. #mnwildfirst pic.twitter.com/grPUzWT60r
— Ryan Carter 👃 (@Ryan_Carter22) October 16, 2021
Fiala’s goal was one of several positives on the night including a strong debut from Fredrick Gaudreau and a 27-save effort from Talbot. But it was Foligno who was the star of the game, scoring the game-winner with 7.2 seconds to give the Wild the win.
The winner. #mnwild Foligno with 17 PIMs and a GWG tonight. pic.twitter.com/65o3cgw8h0
— Ryan Carter 👃 (@Ryan_Carter22) October 16, 2021
Fresh off an opening night win, the Wild will travel to Los Angeles for a Saturday night matchup with the Kings.
