A dominant performance by the Wild in Zach Parise's debut. That was absolutely by far the most lopsided game the Wild have been involved in thus far. They continued to take the play to their opponent with quick passes and utilizing the shot to generate offense.
This is a key point in the 82 game schedule where the Wild play 7 of 9 at home including last nights 5-1 win over Florida. With their home record standing at 13-4-2 and having and gone 10-1-1 in their last 12 at the Xcel Energy Center, the Wild have a great opportunity to make a significant climb in both the Central Division and Western Conference standings.
Every game is huge from here on out and the standings board changes daily and nothing will be decided it appears until the season's final week. In the Western Conference the gap from 1st place to 12th is just 14 points and from 6th place to 12th place is a mere 5 points with several of the teams chasing having multiple games in hand.
The trade talks are beginning to heat up, but for the Wild, getting Parise back is like Chuck Fletcher swinging a deal for a veteran scorer without giving up anything off his roster. Also the maturation of Joel Eriksson Ek is providing an added dimension to this year's Wild team.
Eriksson Ek has not factored into the scoring yet but that seams to be just a matter of time. JEE is a very smart and responsible player and his confidence level is growing with every game he plays. Now that he is playing with Koivu and Granlund we should see some more production from #14.
Nino Niederreiter is just about ready to return to the lineup which would mark the first time all season that the Wild would have their full complement of players healthy. That said, there are other trickle down factors that a healthy lineup bring, most notably is the competition for ice time.
Tyler Ennis has really stepped his game up in recent weeks and has been rewarded with more ice time as well as more consistent linemates, currently playing with Eric Staal and Jason Zucker. Ennis is one of the guys that will be looked at on a nightly basis, with Niederreiter's return, in a group of players that includes Marcus Foligno, Chris Stewart, Daniel Winnik, and Matt Cullen to be the odd man out.
There will be some games where the opponent will dictate who stays in the lineup and who sits but primarily it will be the guys that are playing best that will stay be dressed. The message has been sent and everyone knows their role and what is expected of them.
Once Niedereitter returns it will be fun to see how this team gels over the next month or so. From there we should be able to ascertain how the Wild stack up and just what needs they have as the trade deadline approaches.
We know there is virtually no room with the cap so any kind of deal would take some creativity of salaries. Also with the recent history of Chuck Fletcher trading away draft picks, and little to no results to show for those lost picks, don't look for any deals being made this year involving high Wild draft choices being moved.
This is where things get interesting, and the Wild may just be heating up at the right time.
The NHL regular season means a whole lot, the days of locking up playoff spots weeks in advance are gone. Parity reigns across the league, and on any given night as the old adage goes, is not so old anymore.
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