On December 16th, 2025, I had the pleasure of attending a regular-season NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and my favorite team, the Washington Capitals, in St. Paul, Minnesota. This was not the first NHL game I had ever been to, but I am happy to say that it was the first time I have had the opportunity to write about one. I have been a hockey fan for my entire life and a Capitals fan since I was 10 years old. Growing up in eastern South Dakota, the closest NHL team to us was always the Minnesota Wild. I have seen many different eras and rosters from both teams, but this year’s matchup may have been the most interesting yet.
Starting with my entrance into the newly rebranded Grand Casino Arena, formerly the Xcel Energy Center, I was immediately taken back. I had been to the arena many times over the years, but always while it existed under its previous name. The downtown St. Paul area is full of businesses and museums that surround the arena, making it very easy for my party and me to walk from our hotel to dinner before catching warmups at the rink. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia upon opening the doors, reminding me of all the past games I had witnessed and where my life was at during those moments.
To tell the truth, there was no real reason for us to be at the rink so early aside from my desire to see the players warm up before the game. We got to our seats just in time for the pre-show to start, and I was ecstatic to see players I had been watching for the past few seasons return to the ice and to point out all of my favorites. We sat on the visitors’ side so that I could watch the Capitals players first. The main player I wanted to see was Alexander Ovechkin, who wears number 8 for the team. During the 2024–2025 season, Ovechkin reached and surpassed the all-time regular-season goals record. This title was previously held by Wayne Gretzky, The Great One.
Getting to see the Wild before the game began was also exciting, especially since they were riding a six-game win streak and had been popular in sports news recently due to a major trade that occurred about a week before writing this article. The Minnesota Wild made a deal with the Vancouver Canucks to trade their team captain, Quinn Hughes (defense, #43), for three Wild players: Marco Rossi (center, #93), Zeev Buium (defense, #24), and Liam Ohgren (left wing, #92). Both teams seemed very happy with the trade, and the state of Minnesota gracefully accepted Hughes as part of the team. He even managed to score a goal in his debut Wild game just days before.
As the pre-game ended and the national anthem was sung, it was finally time for the puck to drop. The adrenaline was coursing through our veins as anticipation took over the crowd. I was admittedly there to cheer for my favorite team, but as a Midwest local, I was proud to see the Minnesota Wild bring so much energy into the game. Truly, I did not care who was going to win. I simply appreciated the love of the sport coming from both teams.
The game started with the players firing out of the gates. They skated fast and worked together to execute offensive plays in search of a goal. The first goal of the game was scored early, just 2 minutes and 9 seconds into the first period. It came from Minnesota Wild center Vladimir Tarasenko (#91), who buried a beautiful shot from the middle slot. The play from the Wild was clean and flawlessly executed, exactly as the coach must have drawn it up. The Capitals were forced to focus on defense for the remainder of the period to prevent further damage while searching for opportunities of their own.
The rest of the first period went smoothly without any additional goals. The next goal came in the latter half of the second period after the Washington Capitals were called for hooking and sent a player to the penalty box. The team was forced to play the next two minutes shorthanded. With Minnesota on the power play, they had five players on the ice compared to Washington’s four during the penalty kill. Shots were constantly being peppered on Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren (Goalie, #79). Eventually, a loose rebound was backhanded into the top shelf by the Kirillionaire himself, Kirill Kaprizov (left wing, #97). Earlier this year, Kaprizov signed the most expensive contract in NHL history, earning $136 million over eight years to stay with the Wild. Minnesota loves that man, and the crowd was left with jaws on the floor after the clean goal.
With the score at 2–0 in favor of the Wild, the second period quietly ended without any more goals or penalties. Minnesota had given themselves a comfortable lead while Washington struggled to stay afloat. The third and final period was about to begin.
Trailing by two, the Capitals struggled to gain any momentum. The start of the period looked decent for them from a gameplay standpoint, but Minnesota was on fire. There was no stopping them from the opening faceoff of the third period to the final horn. About four and a half minutes into the period, Vladimir Tarasenko scored his second goal of the night to make it 3–0. Four minutes later, Danila Yurov (right wing, #22) added a fourth goal. It was not looking good for the Capitals, as there were not many options left aside from taking whatever shots they could and hoping something went their way. I was disappointed with my team’s performance, but I could not stop watching the machine that was the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild scored one more goal before the end of the night, with just under six minutes left in the game, courtesy of fan favorite Matt Boldy (left wing, #12). It was clear that Minnesota had clinched the win, and it would have taken a miracle for Washington to catch up. That miracle never came, and neither did any goals for the Capitals. The Wild won the game 5–0 and completely washed the competition.
I was conflicted. On one hand, my favorite NHL team since I was 10 years old just got their asses handed to them. On the other hand, the most local team to me played one of the cleanest and most exciting games I have ever seen them play live. I could not help but get caught up in the excitement around me. Sure, I was on the losing side, but what a game. As a hockey fan, I am proud of the Wild and the team they are becoming. They have a solid group of players and a couple of great goalies in net. Filip Gustavsson (goalie, #32) was between the pipes that night, and he really impressed me. I was hoping to see rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt (goalie, #30), but I was still happy with the outcome. The only thing left to do was head to Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub for some post-game McGoldens and hope nobody made fun of me for still wearing my Capitals jersey. I had a blast at the game, and I hope both teams have a successful season and make it to the playoffs.
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