VANCOUVER - Frederick Gaudreau shook his head from side to side, like he was watching a tennis rally.
Wild find potent mix in second line of Frederick Gaudreau, Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello
The three scored on their second shift together, and they are now a successful week into the change.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 7, 2025 at 2:43AM
That was his perspective on the give-and-go goal his Wild linemates Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello pulled off in the 4-3 win at Seattle on Tuesday, Johansson sending a cross-zone pass to Zuccarello, who returned the puck to a pinching Johansson before receiving it back for a slam-dunk one-timer.
“Typical Zuccy and JoJo,” said Gaudreau, who made the initial handoff to Johansson. “That was a beautiful play.”
The Wild might not make any more changes before the NHL trade deadline expires at 2 p.m. Central time Friday, what with the team strapped for salary-cap space as it braces for injured superstar Kirill Kaprizov to get healthy before the regular season concludes.
But the recent combination of Johansson, Gaudreau and Zuccarello has brought a fresh feel to the lineup because of how quickly they’ve clicked.
“Hopefully can keep building on that,” Zuccarello said. “We need everyone going here.”
Until a week ago, the three had shared the ice for less than 10 minutes of action this season.
But when they teamed up during the 5-2 loss at Colorado last Friday, they scored on only their second shift. Since then, they’ve been the Wild’s most productive players: They were responsible for the lone goal in the 1-0 win over Boston last Sunday and chipped in another two against Seattle — including that game-winner by Zuccarello off the line’s slick passing up ice.
“Not saying that we’re the same type of player, but we see the game pretty similarly,” Johansson said of fellow winger Zuccarello. “Just something when it happens, I think both of us know what’s going to happen. It’s hard to explain.”
Johansson has had his most fruitful stretch of the season since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, with six points in six games, while Zuccarello shed a 10-game goalless drought when he capitalized in Colorado.
“Zuccy has this extra feel for the game that not a lot of guys have that allows him to create space out of situations that we normally don’t have space,” Gaudreau explained, “and if he has to move the puck because he’s getting pressured, he seems to find where the pockets are. So, I think they complement each other very well in that way where JoJo finds those spots.”
This surge by the line, though, has also showcased Gaudreau’s turnaround.
He was hurt last season and finished with only five goals — on the heels of a career-high 19 the previous year and signing a five-year, $10.5 million contract extension.
“It was a weird situation last year, but I’m still proud of everything I did in that year,” Gaudreau said. “A lot of people just look at stats and stuff, but it’s like an iceberg: You just see the top, but there’s all the work that’s been put under. You can judge from what you see, but you just don’t know the amount of work.
“If I look at it myself, I’m extremely proud of how I kind of handled the situation, playing injured, and stuff like that, that adversity, and I’ve learned a lot through it.”
Not only has Gaudreau rekindled his offense, boasting 14 goals and 15 assists to rank top-five in scoring on the team, but he’s regained his form as one of the Wild’s most resourceful options: The center can also play wing, handles penalty kill and power-play duties and can rove around the lineup — like he has since the Wild have been without injured center Joel Eriksson Ek.
Together, Gaudreau, Johansson and Zuccarello have given the Wild a spark during a lull for the No. 1 line, which was tweaked before the road trip finale Friday vs. Vancouver. Ryan Hartman is centering trade pickup Gustav Nyquist and Matt Boldy, with Marco Rossi taking Hartman’s spot between Marcus Foligno and Vinnie Hinostroza.
“I take pride, first of all, in team success,” Gaudreau said. “That’s why I don’t really care who I’m playing with, where I’m playing in the lineup. It’s a good thing for any team to have guys that you can kind of put anywhere. I’ve worked on that aspect of my game, the versatility aspect of my game, since I turned pro and realized that you needed to be versatile in order to be comfortable when you get your chances because you don’t choose where you’re going to get your chances.
“I take pride in that.”
The 27-year-old winger was acquired in a trade from Boston on Thursday night, and made his debut in the Wild’s 3-1 loss.
