‘We need to win’: Wild begin a season of heightened expectations with purpose

The Minnesota Wild opened their 2026-27 NHL season with a 3-1 road victory against the Nashville Predators. General manager Bill Guerin set the tone at the preseason team dinner with a message that the team needs to win this season. Nick Foligno opened the scoring for Minnesota, while Blake Coleman scored the winning goal in his debut before Kirill Kaprizov extended the lead.

Minnesota outshot Nashville 30-20, successfully killed all four penalties, and received a 19-save performance from goaltender Jesper Wallstedt. The victory came despite the absence of injured defenseman Brock Faber, with the Wild leaning on defensive contributions from Jared Spurgeon and Quinn Hughes to protect their lead.