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Wild Hit the Road for Four Beginning Tonight in Jersey |
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Wild Game Day number 5
Wild Record (3-1-0 6 pts)
Road Record (0-1-0)
Opponent: New Jersey Devils (1-2-1 3 pts)
Home Record (1-0-0)
Site: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season results:
1/10/16 Devils 2 @ Wild 1
3/17/16 Wild 4 @ Devils 7
The Wild take their show on the road for the next four after a very successful 3 win homestand. NJ took both games from the Wild last season, and scored seven goals the last time they met in Newark. NJ is struggling once again to score goals and are coming off a tough 2-1 road loss at Boston on Thursday night.
Eric Staal is looking every bit like the Staal of old as he has solidified the Wild top line between Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle. Staal's two goals on Thursday give him three in four games and his play in all three zones has been very good.
Bruce Boudreau has his team heading in the right direction coming off three straight home wins. The road however is where the great teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. This four game trip should tell us a lot about the makeup of Boudreau's squad.
It should be a special night in New Jersey tonight as Zach Parise returns to the place where he spent the first seven years of his career, in addition to that of course, is the return of arguably the greatest Devil of all time, Wild assistant coach, Scott Stevens.
Erik Haula and Jarred Spurgeon both missed practice yesterday but are on the trip. Expect both to be game time decisions. Marco Scandella is healthy after missing the Thursday's game due to illness. If Spurgeon can't go Nate Prosser may make his season debut. There is also the possibility that the Wild dress seven defensemen if Haula is unable to go tonight.
Cory Schneider will be in goal for NJ tonight and for the Wild it will be Devan Dubnyk. Schneider is one of the league's best net minders and had he not gotten hurt last season, the Devils may have made the playoffs even with their lack of offense. He is that good that every night he gives the Devils the ability to win by slamming the door on the Devils cage.
The Wild penalty kill finally yielded a goal on Thursday as Auston Matthews scored on a second period Maple Leaf powerplay. New Jersey's PK is equally as strong as they too have only given one PP goal out of fourteen penalty kill opportunities.
Look for a close checking game tonight, nothing like the last time these two met back in March when they combined for 11 goals in that 7-4 Devils win. Special teams will play a big part in the outcome of this one, so discipline will be key. For the Wild getting more traffic in front of Schneider is imperative, because if he sees the shot, he most often stops the shot.
Let's Go Crazy!
Let's Go Wild!
Let's Play Hockey!
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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