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'We Just Tilt The Ice': Quinn Hughes Reveals Wild's Strategy To Maximize Top Line
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- 'We Just Tilt The Ice': Quinn Hughes Reveals Wild's Strategy To Maximize Top Line
ST. PAUL, Minn. — When Quinn Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek are on the ice together, the Minnesota Wild have one of the most dangerous offensive combinations in hockey.
And as it turns out, getting those four players on the ice at the same time isn't happening by accident.
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Following Minnesota's 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, Wild head coach John Hynes confirmed that the coaching staff has been intentionally coordinating shifts to maximize Hughes' time alongside the team's top forward line.
"We are. We're trying," Hynes said when asked whether the Wild were deliberately getting Hughes on the ice with Kaprizov's line. "It doesn't happen all the time. We do communicate who's going to go what, who's next. But ideally we would like to be able to do that as much as we can."
The strategy has become an important part of Minnesota's offensive approach, particularly with Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon sidelined by injuries.
For Hughes, the benefits of playing alongside Minnesota's most talented forwards have become increasingly apparent as the group develops chemistry.
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"The more reps and games we get together, the more we're just going to be reading off each other," Hughes said. "And I feel like we're getting to a place now where we're in a good spot with that."
Hughes went even further when describing what happens when the group gets rolling.
"It's just so fun, so fun playing with them," Hughes said. "I feel like when we're out there together, we just tilt the ice."
According to Hughes, the coaching staff made a concerted effort to deploy the group together early against St. Louis.
"Credit to Hynesy and Cappy, who are really on that," Hughes said. "I think I played every shift with them in the first period, and we just took over. That really jump-started everything, to be honest."
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The combination creates a difficult challenge for opposing defenses.
Hughes is one of the NHL's most dynamic puck-moving defensemen, capable of carrying the puck through the neutral zone, extending offensive-zone possessions and creating scoring opportunities from the blue line.
Meanwhile, Kaprizov and Boldy provide high-end offensive skill on the wings, while Eriksson Ek creates problems around the net and along the boards.
"It's the way the puck is on their stick, it's off their stick, it's tape-to-tape passes," Blues' head coach Jim Montgomery said. "They're in constant motion. I think Eriksson Ek is a very underrated player on that line. He's the one that keeps them connected. He's the one that wins faceoffs. He's the one that's doing all the little things that allow the other two to be so dynamic."
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But Hynes believes the group's effectiveness goes beyond its individual talent.
"The three of them are highly talented players but they're hard skill players," Hynes said of his top forward line. "They're setting themselves up with puck decisions, puck pressure, relentless effort in pursuit of the puck when they don't have it."
That approach allows Minnesota to generate offense without relying exclusively on individual skill or rush opportunities.
"They're playing direct," Hynes continued. "They're not taking themselves out of the offense with plays that aren't there. They're making really good decisions, and I think that's when they're at the top of their game."
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Boldy echoed that assessment, explaining how the line's forechecking creates opportunities by forcing opposing defenders into mistakes.
"We want to play hard and simple and then let the skill kind of come with getting there," Boldy said. "I think it just sets up a lot when you get teams kind of running around out of position when you turn pucks over, it just kind of creates better chances."
For Hughes, recognizing when those forwards are on the ice also changes his mentality.
"Whenever I see Kirill and those guys go out there and we're out there, I'm like, you've got to take advantage of the shift," Hughes said.
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That means staying aggressive, moving the puck quickly and looking for opportunities to create offense before the opposition can settle into its defensive structure.
Hughes also emphasized the importance of getting pucks toward the net rather than settling for perimeter possession.
"It's not like us five are just perimeter," Hughes said. "All three of them take their turns at the net."
And for the other side?
"Yeah, I mean, he's a special player. His patience with it. The way he controls, even if he likes the whole play. Gives them a ton of time and space and speed entering the zone," Blues captain Robert Thomas said on Hughes. "I didn't think we did a good enough job checking him, making it harder on him. Like I said earlier, those guys had an easy night tonight and they made us pay for is."
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With Minnesota missing several regulars, maximizing the impact of its healthiest stars has become increasingly important.
And based on the comments from both Hughes and Hynes, the Wild have identified one way to do exactly that.
Get Hughes on the ice with Kaprizov, Boldy and Eriksson Ek as often as possible, and let their collective talent take over.
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