Wild Game Day number 24
Wild Record (11-8-4 26 pts)
Road Record (4-5-4)

Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (14-10-2 30 pts)
Home Record (6-6-0)

Site: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 8:30PM CT

TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)

Last season results:
10/27 Oilers 3 @ Wild 4
2/18 Wild 5 @ Oilers 2
3/10 Oilers 2 @ Wild 1

Tonight the Wild look to turn things around in Edmonton as they make their first appearance at Rogers Place. The Oilers started the season very strong but have come back to the pack very quickly and have won just two of their last seven at home and are just 6-6-0 in their new building. The Wild have dropped the first three games of their five game road trip, with two of those losses via the shootout.

The Wild have scored first in each of the last three games but have relinquished the lead in all three. They have managed to come back in each game to draw even but the trend of giving up leads is not a good sign for the Wild who are built on strong defense and goaltending.

The NHL is a very even and competitive league these days, with the margin for error on most nights being very slim. In order for Minnesota to start gaining traction and really make a move up the standings they need to get better production from their first line Parise, Staal, and Koivu, and get more consistent on the powerplay.

A lot is made of analytics in all sports, but truth be told the better teams will almost always have better analytical numbers. Yes hockey is a long season and teams will win games they shouldn't and also lose games they should have won. But in the end analytics do not measure the heart of a team, nor the effort they give on a nightly basis.

The Wild quite frankly do not play with nearly enough heart or effort on a consistent basis, and the win one lose one record is the direct result. The only player I hear consistently say the right things and call it like it is, is the former Oiler, Devan Dubnyk.

Where are Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Ryan Suter?

Why have they not spoken up and called the team out, themselves included?

Why has this team been allowed to play .500 hockey for a month and a half with absolutely no changes to occur?

News flash Minnesota, this team is built to win now, not two to three years from now!!!

Let's Play Hockey!

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