Wild Game Day number 45 Wild Record (23-17-4 50 pts) Home Record (13-4-3)
Opponent: Winnipeg Jets (26-6-7 59 pts) Road Record (10-9-6)
Site: Excel Energy Center, St.Paul, MN
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season results: 10/15 Jets 3 @ Wild 4 11/23 Jets 1 @ Wild 3 2/7 Wild 4 @ Jets 2 2/28 Wild 6 @ Jets 5 3/19 Wild 4 @ Jets 5
Last result: 10/21 Wild 3 @ Jets 4 10/31 Jets 2 @ Wild 1 11/27 Wild 2 @ Jets 7
The division leading Jets come to St. Paul off their 2-1 road loss last night in Chicago. Winnipeg has taken the first three meetings from Minnesota with the last game being the most lopsided, a 7-2 Jets win in Winnipeg in late November.
Tonight will be a good barometer for the Wild as they face arguably the toughest team in the Western Conference and a team that has owned them in three meetings already this season.
Two home games tonight and tomorrow before the Wild bye week. A couple of wins would go a long way in establishing confidence for the team heading into the break. It won't be easy, but sure is better that they are on Xcel Energy Center ice where the Wild have been an entirely different team than the road this season.
It is no secret that in order for the Wild to move up the standings they need to string together wins and especially against good competition. They are a team that is still not quite sure of itself from game to game, which is a big reason why they are where they are in the standings.
Division games are huge and Winnipeg presents quite the challenge for Bruce Boudreau's boys tonight. Boudreau harped on the fact that the team needs to move the puck quicker and get traffic to the net.
That is who the Wild are, they are not quite as quick as they have been in past years, so moving the puck with precision is key to the transition game. But once the puck gets into the offensive zone the plan needs to be pucks to the net as the primary method to generate offense.
On the defensive side of the game the Wild will have their hands full as the Jets have the third leading offense averaging 3.36 goals per game and get production from up and down the lineup. The Winnipeg defensemen are very active in the offense and will present a real challenge for the Wild forwards on the backcheck.
Both teams will be without key offensive weapons as Winnipeg is top line center Mark Scheifele (out 6-8 weeks) is on IR with an upper body injury, while Nino Niederreiter remains out for the Wild through at least the bye week coming up.
Injuries are a fact of life in the NHL, and they also provide opportunities for other players to step up and show what they can do.
The Wild have been searching for more balance from their offense. They have been carried by either Staal's line or Koivu's line most of the season, and really need to get more production from the third and fourth lines.
Boudreau has been shuffling the deck a lot lately but has not been able to get the right combinations outside of his top two lines.
Charlie Coyle is playing a solid game, but getting him more involved in the offense is a necessity. Coyle has always been streaky though, and now would be a good time for him to get on one of those offensive streaks.
Joel Eriksson Ek has been gaining confidence with every game and is quite responsible in his own end of the ice, but we need to see offense from the former first round pick. JEE has some very good skill, a great release and shot. That hockey IQ should translate into on ice production, and with Niederreiter on the shelf this is a great time for Eriksson Ek tostep up the offensive side of his game.
Nine points separate the Wild and Jets in the tough Central Division, but a win tonight could draw them within 7 and still a game in hand.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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