Patchwork Wild lineup stays intact, but falls to Lightning 4 1

Although there were a few brief exits, the Wild didn't stay shorthanded on Thursday night. That's a win considering how decimated their roster is by injury, but this didn't lead to another victory. The Wild's latest patchwork lineup was stumped 4 1 by the Lightning at Xcel Energy Center to drop a fourth straight game.

This loss also snapped the Wild's 10 game win streak on home ice against Tampa Bay. The Lightning's Darren Raddysh scored twice, his first two goals of the season, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22 saves. At the other end of the rink, Marc Andre Fleury racked up 26 stops in a season high fourth straight game for the veteran netminder.

Fleury, who's taken over the Wild crease while Filip Gustavsson recovers from a lower body injury, remains at 550 career wins, one shy of tying Patrick Roy for the second most victories in NHL history. Gustavsson is one of six Wild regulars hurt, and this was the most depleted the Wild have been to date.

Last game, they had captain Jared Spurgeon in action, but he's now out with the same lower body injury that sidelined him for seven games last month. Spurgeon joins Jonas Brodin, Marcus Foligno, Kirill Kaprizov, Vinni Lettieri, Mats Zuccarello and Gustavsson on the injured list. Despite missing so many key players, the Wild weren't trailing after the first period like they did in two of their previous three losses.

They were tied with Tampa Bay despite missing Ryan Hartman for a chunk of the action. Hartman was hit into the boards between the benches by the Lightning's Tanner Jeannot and was helped off the ice but returned before the period ended. Then in the second, Marcus Johansson went down the tunnel after a puck caromed off the boards and into his face, cutting him.

But that wasn't all that went wrong for the Wild that period. Raddysh backhanded in a rebound at 4:31 before converting on a wrap around at 7 minutes. Raddysh last scored last season (April 5, 2023). Just 2 minutes into the third period, the Wild fell farther behind when Victor Hedman capitalized on the power play.

That was the Lightning's lone power play goal in three tries, while the Wild blanked on their only opportunity. That's two consecutive games in which their power play has come up empty handed. But the Wild avoided being shut out for the third time this season with 4:25 to go after Zach Bogosian buried his first goal of the season and first with the Wild against the team that traded him here.

Bogosian, who won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2020, was sent to the Wild for a 2025 seventh round draft pick on Nov. 8. Since then, he's become a steadying presence for the blue line while the defense has been tested by these injuries. Alex Goligoski and Hartman picked up assists on Bogosian's goal, his first since Feb.

21, 2023, but an empty net finish by Brandon Hagel with 41 seconds left nixed a chance at a late rally by the Wild. This wrapped the team's homestand in St. Paul. Next up is a trip to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Saturday before they kick off a home and home against their Central Division rival Dallas..