Bill Guerin says that his team has showed him something and he expects to be active as the deadline approaches.
It is obvious what the Wild need...more help up front, someone that can ignite the second line and pair with Matt Boldy.
Guerin has room under the cap to make additions however he is not particularly looking to mortgage some of his assets to do so. There is a longterm plan but with the Western Conference being essentially up for grabs, a hot team could make a run.
Filip Gustavsson has been outstanding in the Wild net since early November. It has not mattered the opposition, his play has been consistent including last night in Toronto where the Wild earned a very valuable point in their 2-1 overtime loss.
Marc-Andre Fleury is an X factor of course and the better Gustavsson plays the more hungry Fleury will be to get back in their. That was evident in MAF's last start, a 2-0 shutout of the Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Columbus visits the XCEL Energy Center tomorrow afternoon where Fleury may get the net once again.
That is a great problem to have, two goalies playing well and pushing each other. That is when Fleury is typically at his best, while Gustavsson is playing and establishing himself as a top tier goaltender learning from the future hall of famer.
The Wild are playing some very stingy defense, but the lack of scoring depth is placing a ton of pressure on the goaltending and special teams. In the last 16 games the Wild have scored more than 2 goals in regulation only twice and only once in their last 14.
That is not at all a formula that any team wants to use come playoff time. Every game has become a playoff game for the Wild, and really for most if not all of the top nine or ten teams in the Western Conference. Points are magnified as thw scoreboard watching heats up.
Many of the Wild's competition in the West and Central Division will be active at the deadline as well, so Guerin has hos work cut out for him. He plays it very close to the vest but he has stated he is looking to be an ac5ive participant in making the Wild roster better through the end of the season.