Back From a Fractured Skull, Brock Faber Sets Up a Goal as the Red-Hot Wild Rout the Bruins, 6-2

Seven weeks ago, Brock Faber was recovering from surgery on a fractured skull. On Saturday night in Boston, he was back on the ice logging big minutes, and the Minnesota Wild celebrated his return with a 6-2 rout of the Bruins.

Faber, making his season debut, assisted on a goal, finished plus-4 and played 24 minutes and 29 seconds. That is a heavy workload for any defenseman, let alone one playing his first game of the year after a head injury.

The injury came in a preseason game against Dallas in late September, when Faber was struck in the helmet by a shot. He had surgery two days later and was initially ruled out indefinitely. He missed the first 21 games of the season before returning to practice on Nov. 6, and the Wild activated him from injured reserve ahead of the trip to Boston.

Before the game, coach John Hynes made clear how much his team had missed him, saying what Faber brings on the ice is hard to replicate. Hynes also said he wanted to use Faber on both special teams and expected him to play heavy minutes. Faber's ice time on Saturday showed the coach meant it.

The rest of the lineup made the night easier for him. Ryan Hartman and Danila Yurov each scored twice. Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Kirill Kaprizov set up two goals. With those points, Kaprizov and Hughes stretched their point streaks to 11 games apiece, the first time in franchise history two Wild players have carried 11-game point streaks at the same time.

Jesper Wallstedt made 30 saves in goal for Minnesota. David Pastrnak and Fraser Minten scored for Boston, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 19 shots.

The victory extended Minnesota's team point streak to 11 games and gave the Wild their 14th win of the season, the most in the NHL. It was also their eighth straight win on the road.

Hockey players are famous for toughness, and plenty of them have played through things that would put the rest of us in bed for a week. But there is a difference between toughness and patience, and Faber needed both. A skull fracture is not a sprained ankle. It means weeks of waiting, of doctors' visits and of trusting the people around you when every instinct says to get back out there.

The Wild did right by him. They did not rush him into the lineup in October to chase a few early points. They let him heal, brought him back to practice and only then put him on the ice. Saturday was the payoff: a calm, steady, 24-minute night that showed exactly why the franchise sees him as a cornerstone of its blue line.

There is a lesson in that for every young athlete and every parent of one. Coming back the right way matters more than coming back fast. Faber's return was not a gamble. It was the reward for doing things in the right order.

It also says something about the locker room he came back to. A team on an 11-game point streak does not need to change much, and the Wild welcomed a returning star without losing a step. Hughes and Kaprizov are rolling, the depth scoring showed up in Boston, and the goaltending held firm.

With Faber back alongside Hughes on the back end and Kaprizov producing up front, Minnesota has the look of a complete team. The early-season standings say the Wild have earned their place at the top of the league, and the return of their best young defenseman only makes them harder to play against.

For Boston, the night was a reminder of how far the Bruins have to go. Pastrnak and Minten found the net, but Swayman made only 19 saves and Boston gave up six goals on home ice. The Wild, meanwhile, head into the next stretch of their schedule with their top young defenseman back where he belongs.