Last night the Wild recorded their second win of the preseason with a 4-3 triumph over the visiting Jets.
Once again the Wild iced an NHL lineup at home, while the Jets played with a lineup that was sprinkled with about half of their regulars.
The story of the night of course was the return of Ryan Suter to the Wild lineup. It was first thought that Suter would not play in any of the Wild preseason contests, but that decision changed prior to Wednesday's game.
It makes sense to get Suter into game action prior to the regular season, for the simple fact that coming back from an injury, especially one as severe as Suter experienced, nothing can replicate game action.
Suter came out of the game unscathed and even looked like his old self for a good majority of it. That said there still were times where Suter was understandably tentative, which is all a part of the process when returning from any injury, no matter who the player is.
Getting Suter game reps will pay dividends next week when the regular season commences.
Preseason is just that, preseason. The games don't count and neither do the stats.
We know that nothing that happens in September really matters outside of who makes the opening night roster. The Wild are focused on taking care of business on the ice in the regular season, in order to have the opportunity to erase the memories of recent Springs.
We will throw out the three Wild preseason losses where they were tied late in the third period of each game only to lose all three in regulation. You may recall that was an issue early on last regular season for the Wild, and one that they hope to not repeat this time around.
It is no secret that the Central Division is as difficult a division as there is in the league from top to bottom. With Winnipeg and Nashville leading the way as prohibitive favorites in the Western Conference, while St. Louis made significant offseason moves to sure up down the middle. Chicago is always a threat and as long as Corey Crawford can return to the Hawks net they will be a formidable foe, and last season's surprise Colorado is a year better combined with the acquisition of Philipp Grubauer, and Dallas with their high powered attack and new coaching staff, the playoffs are no guarantee for the Wild.
One final tuneup tomorrow in Denver for the Wild, and then it is time for the tough decisions on those final roster spots before opening night.
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