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Wild Look to Keep Rolling on the Road |
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Wild Game Day number 49
Wild Record (26-17-5 57 pts)
Road Record (9-13-1)
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penquins (26-21-3 55 pts)
Home Record (16-7-1)
Site: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season results:
11/10 Wild 4 @ Penquins 2
11/25 Penguins 2 @ Wild 6
Last result:
10/28 Penguins 1 @ Wild 2
A full slate of games on the docket as the NHL will go dark for the annual All-Star break after tonight's games for the next four days. The Wild travel to Pittsburgh for a reunion of sorts for Matt Cullen as he returns for the first time since celebrating with his former teammates last June.
Minnesota took the first matchup this season 2-1 over Pittsburgh back in late October at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild erased the Penguins 1-0 first period lead, with goals from Daniel Winnik in the second period and Mikko Koivu midway through the third period and Devan Dubnyk made it stand up stopping 29 of 30 Penguins shots for the victory.
Tonight's tilt is a battle of 8th place teams in each conference, with both teams in need of points to remain in their tenuous playoff position. Both teams come into the game hot as the Penguins have won 7 of 10 (7-3-0) since the New Year, while the Wild are 8-2-2 themselves since the Christmas Holiday break.
The Penguins will be without starting goaltender Matt Murray is away from the team following the death of his father. That means the Wild will get their first look at Casey DeSmith in the Penguin net tonight.
DeSmith has played very well in his most recent recall from the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. DeSmith is 2-1-0 yielding just 4 goals over the 3 games since his January 12th recall while stopping 96 of the 100 shots he has faced.
For the Wild, once again Nino Niederreiter will be out of the lineup and for the third straight game Eden Prairie native Kyle Rau, will be on the third line with Charlie Coyle and JoelEriksson Ek. That trio has been very effective in the two games they have played together and the Wild will look for more of the same energy and attention to detail they have brought in those previous two contests.
It looks like Tyler Ennis who was a healthy scratch on Monday, will be back in the lineup on the fourth line in place of Chris Stewart. Ennis had been showing some good signs in his game especially away from the puck, but he needs to start contributing on the scoresheet.
The Koivu-Granlunud-Zucker line looks like it has found the groove that it had for most of last season but playing on the road presents a whole different challenge for the Wild's top shutdown line. Yes they are very good in the offensive zone as any line that has the talents of Mikael Granlund will be, but they are also Bruce Boudreau's most reliable line when it comes to matching up against the opponents top line.
Daniel Winnik has formed a nice little chemistry alongside of Eric Staal and Zach Parise and his speed and strong play along the boards has created a number of great chances and goals for the Wild top line.
This is a great test for the Wild as now is the time when you want to get on a roll. Tonight's opponent knows this better than anyone, having mastered that over the last two seasons rolling into the playoffs on a high note and then completing the process with two straight Stanley Cup celebrations.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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