To Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber, the start to this season feels like a night-and-day difference compared to a year ago.
The Wild have won two games in a row and six of their past seven. They have earned at least one point in nine of their first 10 contests.
Minnesota will try to keep its early-season success going when it hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday evening in St. Paul, Minn.
“It’s definitely a different feel,” said Faber, a second-year player who grew up in nearby Maple Grove, Minn. “We’re playing with a lot more confidence every night, expecting to win every night.
“We’re on the right path.”
Toronto also is off to a good start with points in seven of its first 12 games. However, the Maple Leafs’ most recent game did not go well as they lost 4-2 on the road to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
Mitch Marner and Steven Lorentz scored one goal apiece for Toronto, which continues to seek answers on the power play. The Maple Leafs went 0-for-4 on the man advantage against St. Louis.
“I don’t know,” Marner said when asked about the power-play struggles. “We’re working on it, non-stopping. We’re trying to figure things out. It’s not like we’re not trying. We just have to stay patient, keep practicing and keep pushing.
“We know we can do better and find ways to improve. It’ll eventually click. We feel some pressure, especially with other guys coming in, but we know we’re doing the right things, and we’ll get results.”
Joseph Woll allowed three goals on 23 shots for the Maple Leafs in the loss. Toronto likely will turn toward Anthony Stolarz against Minnesota.
Stolarz is 4-2-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in seven games to start the season. The numbers closely resemble his career statistics, which include a 2.67 GAA and a .915 save percentage.
In four career games against the Wild, Stolarz is 1-3-0 with a 4.12 GAA and an .893 save percentage. He appeared in one game against Minnesota last season, when he allowed one goal on 10 shots as a member of the Florida Panthers.
On the opposite end of the rink, Filip Gustavsson is expected to start for the Wild. He enters the game with a 5-1-1 record, a 2.29 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Gustavsson is 1-1-1 with a 3.98 GAA and an .867 save percentage in three career games against the Maple Leafs. He struggled badly in his lone outing against Toronto last season, when he gave up seven goals on 33 shots and took the loss.
But that was last season, and this season feels different — at least so far.
Wild defenseman Jake Middleton said this season’s group already had shown an ability to erase deficits and play well under pressure. That is a good indicator for the team going forward, he said.
“It’s resiliency,” Middleton said. “We’ve been doing that since the start of training camp. We’re one of the hardest-working teams and one of the smartest-working teams, and when you have work ethic behind it and confidence, it doesn’t matter what the score is.”
