We knew Brock Faber was good. Now, we're watching him become great.
With nine seconds left in Saturday's game at Grand Casino Arena, the Avalanche had no chance of erasing a three-goal deficit. Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was pulled for an extra attacker, and center Nazem Kadri—alone at the bottom of the right circle—fired one last puck toward the net. It was a meaningless shot in a game that was already decided.
But Brock Faber didn't see it that way.
He stepped in front of it.
Why give Colorado even a sliver of momentum heading into Game 4 on Monday in St. Paul? That's the kind of mindset that separates good players from great ones. Matt Boldy pounced on the loose puck and scored an empty-netter with four seconds left, sealing the Wild's 5-1 victory—their first since closing out a first-round series win against Dallas on April 30.
Faber didn't just make a clutch defensive play. He set up the first goal, scored the fourth, and then blocked Kadri's shot to create the empty-netter. In nine postseason games, he now has four goals and nine points. His blue line partner, Quinn Hughes—who joined the Wild via trade on Dec. 13—has the same numbers. Together, they've become the engine driving Minnesota's playoff run.
The Wild are a forechecking team, and Faber and Hughes are the ones keeping the puck in the offensive zone. The Avalanche had no answer for them on Saturday. After Games 1 and 2 in Denver left the Wild stunned by how sideways things went, it was Colorado's turn to scramble.
"Mobile D men out there," veteran center Brock Nelson said. "Quinn and Brock can circle the zone, support one another, create a little bit of space. We have to be sharp, be quick to close on the D men, try to prevent them from rolling a bit more and then just be quick to support."
The Wild's relentless pressure put the Central Division leaders and President's Trophy winners on their heels. Colorado penalties led to Kirill Kaprizov's four-on-four goal and Hughes' four-on-three score. Ryan Hartman added a power-play goal early in the second period. Then, on a delayed penalty, Faber started a rush, passed to Vladimir Tarasenko, and crashed the net—where the rebound off Tarasenko's shot bounced off Faber's leg and over the goal line for a 4-1 lead.
"One of those guys," Wild coach John Hynes said. "He has the 'it factor.'"
With a promising season on the line in a must-win game, Hynes rode his top blue liners hard—29 minutes, 30 seconds for Faber, 28:30 for Hughes. None of the other defensemen played more than Jared Spurgeon's 17:38. That's the kind of trust you earn when you're not just good, but on your way to becoming great.
The Wild didn't just get up off the mat on Saturday. They made a statement. And they're not done yet.