Wild Game Day number 74
Wild Record (41-24-8 90 pts)
Home Record (24-6-7)

Opponent: Nashville Predators (48-15-10 106 pts)
Road Record (23-7-6)

Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN

Time: 7:00PM CT

TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)

Last season results:
12/15 Wild 5 @ Predators 2
12/27 Wild 3 @ Predators 2
1/22 Predators 4 @ Wild 2
2/18 Predators 2 @ Wild 5
4/1 Wild 0 @ Predators 3

Last result:
11/16 Predators 4 @ Wild 6
12/29 Predators 2 @ Wild 4
12/30 Wild 0 @ Predators 3

The Wild have had nearly a week off to prepare for the NHL and Central Division leading, Nashville Predators. Nashville is coming off their first regulation loss in their last 15 games, a 5-2 defeat at home against the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Nashville is equally as dangerous on the road as they are at home, but they have lost both of their previous trips to St. Paul this season. It should be a great test for the Wild who are desperately trying to find an identity that will catapult them into a legitimate playoff contender.

To this point the Wild have been an up and down team for much of the season, with the positive being the fact that they have only lost more than two games in a row just once. That bodes well for a team come playoff time, but for the Wild they must first get to the dance.

So the next three games will give us a good view of how the Wild can get their game up to the
level of the top NHL teams. Let's call this a dress rehearsal for Bruce Boudreau's team. If they can come out of this with four out of six points that would be a significant step for the Wild as they look to qualify for the playoffs first and then take the next step to make a run once the second season begins.

In order for the Wild to become a contender, they will need to establish a much more consistent style of play that the team displays every night. No more of the uninspired efforts from one period to the next. The lackadaisical turnovers and attention to detail are staples of the Wild in their lopsided losses. That must be addressed and cleaned up and to be quite honest, with the veteran lineup the Wild possess, is thoroughly unacceptable.

Devan Dubnyk must be better. He needs to do a much better job of controlling hos rebounds, and his balance has been an issue far too often this season. Dubnyk has the ability to steal games with his play and when he is on top of his game and tracking the puck, he is one of the league's top goalies.

Nashville is arguably the best the NHL has to offer, and it is clear that their run to the finals a year ago has fueled their fire to come back this season with the goal of erasing last year's Cup defeat. They are peaking at just the right time and the Wild should thank the schedule makers for giving them two cracks at the Predators while they are on top of their game.

That may seem odd, but the fact is that if the Wild truly want to be a contender, they must step up their game to the highest level, and not just for one game. Boudreau should be treating this like the playoffs and preparing his team to be playoff ready.

Projected lines:

Zucker-Staal-Granlund
Parise-Koivu-Niederreiter
Ennis-Eriksson Ek-Coyle
Foligno-Cullen-Winnik

Suter-Dumba
Brodin-Spurgeon
Seeler-Prosser

Dubnyk

It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!

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