The Lightning visit snowy St. Paul this evening for a late night faceoff at the XCEL Energy Center.
This made for TV Wednesday night back end of the double header will be quite a challenge for the hearty Minnesota faithful. They will not only have to deal with a game that starts an hour and a half later than the standard weeknight game time, they will also have to brave the elements of a storm system that has stalled over the region dumping well over a foot of snow and more coming down currently.
Tampa is currently sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, and riding a four game win streak. The Wild are coming off a December that saw them climb the Central Division standings up to third place themselves, with their 11-4-0 record.
Filip Gustavsson gets the Wild net tonight as the Wild look to extend their 9-game home winning streak over the Lightning.
The unofficial second half of the NHL season is upon the Wild and the time to build on their strong December is now. There are some issues the Wild need to address as the games become all that much tougher.
A big observation from the Wild's recent loss to Central Division leading Dallas, saw the Wild lose the game in two of the biggest areas of concern when it comes to a playoff series. Special teams and the faceoff circle.
The Wild powerplay and penalty kill have been better this season, however they are still ot consistent enough to be counted upon. There is not much scoring threat on their second powerplay unit and the top unit is very streaky as they all too often pass the puck out of scoring opportunities rather than into then.
It has been a fact that since Mikko Koivu, Eric Staal, and Matt Cullen days the Wild have been less than spectacular winning faceoffs. Bill Guerin will make some changes as the trade deadline approaches. How he addresses these shortcomings will determine just how far this Wild team might go when the games matter most.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!