Joel Eriksson Ek isn't having his best offensive season, but he remains perhaps the Wild's most irreplaceable player.

After receiving a raucous welcome from the home crowd in St. Paul when he was introduced for the first time, Hughes played alongside Brock Faber, led all skaters in ice time, and scored a third-period goal in a 6-2 Wild rout over the Bruins (19-14-0) at Grand Casino Arena.

The Ottawa Senators wasted a comeback from a 2–0 deficit on Saturday afternoon, falling 3–2 in Minnesota. Joel Eriksson Ek scored the winner on a spectacular bad-angle one-timer with just 24 seconds left in regulation.

Does Hughes slot in as a partner to likely Team USA teammate Brock Faber? What does that mean for the rest of the Minnesota lineup?

Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and two assists for the Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday. Marcus Johansson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period for the Wild (16-9-5),

Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and two assists as the Minnesota Wild defeated the host Seattle Kraken 4-1 Monday night. Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko also tallied, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for the Wild,

Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and two assists as Minnesota closed its four-game western road trip on a high note