RALEIGH, N.C. — As tributes poured in last month when legendary broadcaster Bob Cole died, Mike Guentzel googled “Hockey Night in Canada 2017 playoffs” to relive the soundtrack of a playoff in which his son Jake, then a quiet, wide-eyed rookie, had a postseason run for the ages.

In helping lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a second consecutive Stanley Cup, Guentzel became the first rookie in NHL history to lead the postseason in goal scoring with 13. He came within one goal of matching Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli’s rookie NHL record set in 1981 and tied for the most postseason points in history by a rookie with 21.

Cole called many of those goals.

“It was just amazing to hear Bob Cole talking about my son and the excitement in his voice,” said Mike Guentzel, a former longtime college and junior coach and now a pro scout with the new NHL Utah franchise after coming over from Arizona. “You forget about those memories and what happened, but it was cool to reminisce back to that and to hear Bob Cole talking about Jake. I’m like, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’”

That playoff run, after scoring 16 goals and 33 points in a 40-game regular season, turned out to be a family affair for Mike and his wife, Sally, and their two other sons, Gabe, who’s now 36 and a father of…

ST. PAUL, Minn. — For years, Luke Kunin watched as his girlfriend, then fiancée, then wife, Sophia, supported his career.

She was a shoulder to lean on when things got tough in Minnesota. Moved to Nashville when he was traded there. Was a constant during the toughest season of his pro career — last year with the San Jose Sharks, when he tore his ACL.

So Kunin can’t wait to walk into Xcel Energy Center — the arena where he began his NHL career as a Minnesota Wild rookie seven years ago — on Saturday with the shoe on the other foot. The 1 p.m. CDT game will be his first time watching Sophia play at the highest level in person, as she’ll take the ice with Minnesota’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team to face Boston in its regular-season finale ahead of next month’s playoffs.

“I’ll get to see what it’s all about,” Luke said. “I’ve watched her games on the internet all year — as much as I can with our schedule — but I think of all the things she’s sacrificed for me over the years so I can live out my dream. I can’t wait to be there to support her and watch her live her dream.”

Luke and Sophia Kunin’s relationship has helped them come through so much to arrive at this point. Meeting as teenagers. Watching each other excel in hockey….

TEMPE, Ariz. — In a game in which goals were hard to come by for 40 minutes, the Minnesota Wild and Arizona Coyotes combined for three in a 39-second span early in the third period Thursday, and Joel Eriksson Ek broke a 2-2 tie 7:16 into the period with his 29th goal of the season to help lift Minnesota to a 5-2 win at Mullett Arena.

Mats Zuccarello, who missed Sunday’s game because of a family emergency, returned to the lineup and assisted on three of the five goals.

Brock Faber scored an empty-net goal and had an assist, Connor Dewar added an empty-net goal, Kirill Kaprizov continued his scoring ways with a second-period power-play goal and Zach Bogosian, fresh off signing a two-year, $2.5 million extension, scored a clutch third-period tying goal as the Wild won their second straight. The Coyotes, playing without Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba for trade-related reasons and Nick Bjugstad with his wife in labor, fell to 2-14-2 since Jan. 24.

• Kaprizov scored his fourth goal in two games and joined Marian Gaborik (2005 to ’08) and Brian Rolston (2005 to ’08) as the only Wild players to notch three consecutive 30-goal seasons.
• Clayton Keller and Michael Carcone scored seven seconds apart to ruin Fleury’s shutout early in the third period. It was the fastest two goals the…

Our NHL style rankings have seen a fair share of players donning hats and blazers, even full suit combos. Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman, who’s in the midst of a career season, has taken it one step further by donning Stetson hats with his outfits. He credits a Calgary-based World of Vici store stylist for his suits.

“I just have a guy here in Calgary that wanted to play a little dress-up this year,” Coleman said.

As for the hats, Coleman got himself hooked after wearing an Open Road Stetson while attending the Academy of Country Music Awards in Dallas last summer. Owning one turned into owning multiple hats. Even Coleman’s wife, Jordan, grabbed some during the Flames’ road stop in Dallas last November. Coleman also received a Stetson as a birthday gift.

“What’s that old expression? Look good, play good, feel good,” Coleman said. “It’s fun to mix it up a little bit. I was pretty simple earlier in my career. Now that I have the luxury to go get some new stuff, I’ve enjoyed it. My wife used to poke fun at my suit game. I think she’s probably the happiest of anybody.”

Coleman now is considered a style rankings regular for The Athletic. He’s been a part of stiff competition with some of the league’s best dressers, including Auston Matthews, Adam…

ST. PAUL, Minn — Camila Foligno held her father’s hand as her eyes glanced around a room full of female hockey players Saturday afternoon.

The 3-year-old wasn’t a stranger to pregame activities at Xcel Energy Center, having watched her dad, Marcus Foligno, play there many times for the Minnesota Wild. But this time, she took in the scene as the Minnesota’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team got ready to take the ice for its home opener. Camila and her older sister, Olivia, 5, just started skating, but Marcus wanted them to experience this historic event. Foligno, wearing one of the team’s purple jerseys, colorfully read the starting lineup for the players, who slapped their knees as a drumroll.

“In the pipes, we’ve got Maddie Rooney.”

“On defense, we’ve got the ‘Big Unit,’  Lee Stecklein.”

She listened as Foligno yelled other nicknames, like “Coyner” for Kendall Coyne Schofield and “The High-zee” for Taylor Heise, the former Gophers star and prized No. 1 pick. When he finished, Camila, Olivia and their dad went around the room to slap hands with each of the women. At the end, Foligno smiled and pointed to Camila.

“That,” he said, “could be the next ‘Big Unit.’”

Very few people read a starting lineup like #mnwild Marcus Foligno….

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Dean Evason isn’t hiding.

The man who lives mere blocks from TRIA Rink and Xcel Energy Center and used to walk to and from work even on the snowiest and coldest winter days and nights was sitting in plain sight at Keys Café on Wednesday, two days after he was fired as Minnesota Wild coach.

He shook the hand of the host, whom he knows well. He enthusiastically greeted one of the waitresses, who was excited to see Evason and tell him about her chipped tooth, which she’s upset makes her look like Jim Carrey in “Dumb and Dumber.”

On Tuesday morning, not even 18 hours after Bill Guerin called him into his office to deliver the bad news, Evason rejoined CorePower Yoga and took part in a sweaty, 120-degree hot yoga class.

“My legs are dead today,” Evason said as he took a bite of his egg sandwich and washed it down with a vanilla latte.

He’s got a golf trip in the works. He’s got dinner plans Wednesday night at La Grolla, the Italian staple his buddy owns. He plans to visit his three kids. His wife, Genevieve, is a flight attendant based in Montreal for Air Canada. She does long-haul flights to Europe, and he plans to soon jump on flights she’s working and sit “hopefully in business class” so he can spend 24-hour stints with her in places like…

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was 2011, Bill Guerin’s first year as development coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins and one of his first times traveling to Wilkes-Barre, Penn., to work with the Baby Penguins.

Guerin was living on Long Island, so it was always a special occasion when he showed up.

“He comes in all fresh, brings us Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and comes in full of energy: ‘Hey boys, let’s go on the ice,’” Wilkes-Barre’s coach at the time, John Hynes, recalled. “We go out there skating, and about 20 minutes into practice, we’re doing a battle drill and Billy skates up to me: ‘Hey Hynesy, isn’t this a little aggressive for a morning skate?’

“I go, ‘Billy … the game’s tomorrow.’”

Guerin erupted with laughter last April as Hynes relayed this story on the morning of what was — unbeknownst to either — Hynes’ second-to-last morning skate as coach of the Nashville Predators.

“I was standing there thinking, ‘We’re going long. Now he’s got these guys doing all this physical stuff. I’ve got to say something,’” Guerin said, still laughing.

“Poor guy left his wife and family to come to Wilkes a day too early,” Hynes said, laughing harder.

At the helm of the Hynes #mnwild pic.twitter.com/VVY9Kp8LZz

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild)

Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said he was upset Friday that due to league rules, the team would not allow him to wear a custom-designed mask for Native American Heritage Night in honor of his wife, Veronique, who is a registered member of a tribe in Canada.

Ahead of this season, the NHL clarified its guidance about what players and teams can do for “special initiatives” like heritage nights, including banning specialty jerseys during warmups. That also initially included banning the use of stick tape, like Pride tape, to support social causes — a decision the league reversed late last month.

Fleury said he was willing to limit his use of the mask to warmups — and accept a fine, according to his agent Allan Walsh — but the team will not let him because they were twice instructed by the NHL that it was against the rules. Fleury called the league’s decision “stupid.”

The NHL did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The mask was designed by Prairie Island Indian Community member and artist Cole Redhorse Taylor and inspired by traditional Dakota floral patterns — also a nod to Fleury, nicknamed “Flower.” It is autographed by Fleury and will be up for bid as part of the annual Minnesota Wild-Prairie Island Indian Community Native…

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Early in the summer of 1993, when Mike Modano went from being a baby-faced Minnesota North Stars stud to getting a letter in the mail instructing him to report for Dallas Stars training camp by Sept. 10, he never envisioned he’d ever touch back down in the Twin Cities permanently.

On May 22, with a wife and five children in tow, he landed here at 2 p.m.

By 6 p.m. that night, two of Mike and Allison Modano’s kids were already at soccer practice.

By the following week, their children, ranging from ages 3 to 9, were signed up for activities like hockey, soccer, basketball, tennis and dance.

The kids have met so many friends and love Minnesota so much, they recently asked their parents if they could relocate here from Arizona permanently.

“They thought we were just visiting,” Modano, who has worked for the Wild as an executive adviser since 2019, said, laughing.

Life has sure changed for the 53-year-old Hall of Famer and NHL’s all-time top U.S-born scorer (561 goals and 1,374 points).

Amazingly, though, Modano still has that baby face, still is in playing shape and still has the vigor of that fast, dynamic 23-year-old whom fans were crushed to see leave.

“What’s crazy is, he has more energy than I do,” said Allison Modano, 36, the former pro golfer and…

BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Natalie Darwitz’s life has been turned upside down, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’ve spent more time on my phone in the last month and a half than in the last five years,” she told The Athletic in the midst of what has quickly become the most exhilarating yet overwhelming time in her storied hockey career. “I am losing sleep at night in a good way. I’m excited. I’m invested. I’m super zen-ish, but I just feel like everything that has happened in my life has prepared me for this role.”

There’s not a hockey person in Minnesota who doesn’t know of the heavily decorated Darwitz, the Eagan High School, University of Minnesota and USA Hockey legend and now the first general manager of the newly launched Minnesota-based Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise.

This is a two-time national collegiate champion; a three-time gold-medal winner and five-time silver-medal winner at the world championships; a three-time Olympian, with two silvers and a bronze; and, of course, a U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer.

Nobody in the history of Minnesota high school girls hockey has more goals than her 316 or more points than her 468, scored from 1997 to 2000 at Eagan. Nobody in the history of the women’s program at University of Minnesota has…