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Wild Set to Spoil LCA Party

October 5, 2017, 3:15 PM ET [12 Comments]
Dan Wallace
Minnesota Wild Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Wild Game Day number 1
Wild Record (0-0-0 0 pts)
Road Record (0-0-0)

Opponent: Detroit Red Wings (0-0-0 0 pts)
Home Record (0-0-0)

Site: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Time: 6:30PM CT

TV: NBCSN

Last Season Results:
2/12 Red Wings 3 @ Wild 6
3/26 Wild 2 @ Red Wings 3

Tonight it all begins again for Bruce Boudreau's Minnesota Wild. The slate is clean, the memory of last year's late season collapse and early playoff exit are all in the past. It is a new day, with a new outlook, and ironically it all begins in a brand new arena.

The Red Wings will roll out the red carpet on their brand new digs tonight as Little Caesars Arena will officially open tonight. The Wings are coming off their first non-playoff season since the 1989-90 season. It was a great run, one that saw them hoist the Stanley Cup four times during that stretch, but the last few years of the streak the team was not much of factor when the playoffs rolled around.

The bandages that were applied only kept the Wings afloat just enough to keep the playoff streak alive. But nonetheless, the streak was impressive and now the Wings will try to rebound with a much younger nucleus that is comprised of many graduates from their AHL affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins that have been infused into the Red Wing lineup over the last few seasons.

The noticeable absence for Detroit will be Andreas Athanasiou, who is in a contract dispute.

Both the Wild and Wings have very similar lineups to the ones we last saw back at the end of last season. The Wings have just three new faces in their lineup, those being free agent acquisitions Trevor Daley and Luke Witkowski, along with Martin Frk, the Calder Cup Champion, Griffins leading goal scorer with 27 from a year ago.

The Wild of course have a few new faces as well, most notably, Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis who came over from Buffalo. Matt Cullen makes his return to Minnesota after four seasons, with the last two culminating with Cup victories with the Penguins. Daniel Winnik was signed yesterday from his PTO. Mike Reilly and Gustav Olofsson are not new, with each having been up and down with the Wild each of the last two season, but both have made the big club for the first time in their careers. Alex Stalock has made his way back onto an NHL roster after a couple of seasons spent primarily in the AHL.

For the Wild it is game one of a three game road trip that will see them head to Carolina on Saturday and then they get 4 days off before they will head to Chicago. Not an easy start to the season by any stretch, so getting off on the right foot tonight is important.

Zach Parise is out of the lineup at least for the first two games and who knows how long thereafter, but other than Parise this is a healthy and stacked Wild lineup. There is scoring depth throughout the lineup and a very mobile defense.

When the Wild lost their way last season it coincided with the trade deadline deal that brought Martin Hanzal and Ryan White in from Arizona. That signaled a change in the Wild game, which up until that point was a game of speed, quick outlets, and a fast transition team, that could turn the play from defense to offense very quickly.

So the Wild have turned the page back to be more like the team we saw for the first five months of the season last year, but adding a big power forward to the mix in Marcus Foligno. Foligno should help to create more room for his linemates and also be a significant presence in front of opponents nets especially on the powerplay. That is an area the Wild have been lacking in recent years, and should make them a lot tougher to matchup against.

The offseason was full of question marks with the early playoff exit, the expansion draft and protection lists. the entry draft and no 1st or 2nd round picks for the Wild, the trade speculations and eventual deal with Buffalo, to the new contracts needed for Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter, and then to free agency.

Chuck Fletcher managed his way through all of that and came out at the other with a Wild lineup that is deep and ready to compete for the Cup. It all begins tonight in a brand new building, one the late Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch would be very proud of indeed.

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