Vladimir Tarasenko has recently turned a difficult stretch marred by injuries around him into a personal surge. He has rediscovered his finishing touch and is reminding everyone that the Wild brought him in to stabilize their scoring on the wing. With key forwards sidelined, Tarasenko has responded by driving offense, especially on the power play, and making a meaningful impact over the past couple of weeks.
In the stretch since Matt Boldy went out with an undisclosed injury, Tarasenko has strung together his best run of form this season, including a three-game point streak where he has piled up five goals and three assists. Two of those goals came in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Trasenko scored both on the power play, underscoring how much he has leaned into a bigger offensive role with one of the team’s primary creators out of the lineup.
For much of the early season, Tarasenko’s production was steady but unspectacular. He had 2 goals and 8 assists in October and November before a clear uptick in December. His recent push has come at a time when the Wild have needed someone to shoulder top-six scoring and special-teams responsibilities. Tarasenko has answered that call with more shot volume, better shot selection, and a willingness to attack from the inside rather than drifting to the perimeter.
The power play unit is the most obvious area of Tarasenko’s resurgence, where his usage and impact have climbed as injuries have forced adjustments to the top group. With Boldy out, more touches are funneling through Tarasenko on the flank. He has responded by getting pucks off his stick faster and cleaner, as evidenced by his multi-goal power-play performance against Montreal and his recent run of 5 goals and 3 assists in 4 games of man-advantage production.
Vladimir Tarasenko’s shooting percentage during this hot stretch is well above his early-season pace, but it is not a case of pure luck; it reflects higher-danger looks and more of his attempts coming from the dots in, where he has historically done his best work. The Wild have also benefited from his ability to freeze penalty killers with a short threat and then slip pucks into seams, which has shown up in his recent spike in power-play assists.
Tarasenko’s resurgence has not been limited to the scoresheet; his on-ice results have been markedly better in wins than in losses. He has 11 goals, 7 assists in December and January, and a significantly stronger plus-minus rating in games Minnesota has controlled. That split reflects how he has helped tilt the ice when he is going, contributing not only goals and assists but also better puck management through the neutral zone and more sustained offensive-zone time.
At five-on-five, he has looked more engaged on the forecheck and more connected with his linemates, using his strength along the boards to extend shifts instead of playing a purely rush-based game. As injuries have forced new combinations, his veteran poise has helped stabilize those makeshift lines, allowing younger players and depth forwards to play simpler, more predictable hockey around him.
The Wild didn’t sign Vladimir Tarasenko just for his highlight-reel goals; they brought him in to add championship experience and another veteran voice to a room that injuries and inconsistency have tested. Tarasenko’s recent scoring run during a banged-up stretch feels like exactly the type of contribution they envisioned. He’s a proven scorer who’s taking ownership of difficult games rather than waiting for the group to get healthy.
Injury absences have effectively created a leadership window. Tarasenko has stepped through it by playing more directly, demanding the puck in key spots, and setting a tone that the Wild can still dictate games even when they are not full strength. For a team that has sometimes sagged when a key piece like Boldy goes down, having a veteran winger respond with his best hockey of the season is both a short-term boost and a reminder of why his presence matters in the bigger playoff picture.
If Tarasenko can sustain even a portion of this elevated form once the Wild get healthier, their forward group becomes significantly more layered, with another legitimate scoring threat beyond the usual core. His ability to carry a line during injury-ridden stretches suggests the coaching staff can lean on him in matchup minutes and late-game situations, rather than viewing him purely as a complementary finisher. For now, his resurgence is a timely answer to a pressing question.
Who would step up when impact players went down?
Vladimir Tarasenko has responded by playing some of his sharpest, most impactful hockey in a Wild sweater, turning a tough injury run into an opportunity to remind everyone that he can still tilt games when Minnesota calls his number.