Wild Game Day number 1 Wild Record (0-0-0 0 pts) Road Record (0-0-0)
Opponent: Colorado Avalanche (0-0-0 0 pts) Home Record (0-0-0)
Site: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
Time: 8:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 11/24 Avalanche 2 @ Wild 3(SO) 1/6 Wild 2 @ Avalanche 7 3/2 Wild 1 @ Avalanche 7 3/13 Avalanche 5 @ Wild 1
Here we go again, the new season for the Wild gets under way tonight in Denver. The Avalanche were the surprise team last season improving from their league worst 22 wins and 48 points in 2016-17 to an impressive 45 wins and 95 points.
Colorado thoroughly dominated the Wild in the season series going 3-0-1, winning the final three contests by a combined 19-4. It was obvious that the Avalanche and Wild were a mismatch a season ago, and with virtually the same rosters for both teams what will change this season.
For the Wild, the Avalanche should be a good barometer because no team in the league has been able to do what Colorado did to the Wild last season, winning three consecutive lopsided tilts.
We know that the Wild were decimated with injuries a year ago, and that even when they had their full compliment they were rarely if ever at 100%. That means nothing because the Wild even in their depleted state were able to put up a 101 point season, good enough for third in the tough Central Division. But why were they not even the least bit competitive with the Avalanche?
The Wild had no answer for the Avalanche's top trio led by MVP runner up, Nathan MacKinnon, who combined with his linemates Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen to torch the Wild. Those three combined for 7 goals and 19 points in the three convincing Colorado wins.
So it is a new season and the Wild have a new outlook as they look to put six years of past Spring disappointment behind them and focus on learning from those experiences to make the leap forward in 2019.
The faces may look the same for the Wild but the attitude throughout the organization is totally changed. So tonight's is actually a good foe for the Wild to open up against especially on the road. The goal is to change the course, and learn from past shortcomings and what better place to begin than against the team that made the Wild look more like a bottom feeder than a playoff team a year ago.
Wild projected lines:
Zucker-Staal-Granlund Parise-Koivu-Niederreiter Eriksson Ek-Greenway-Coyle Foligno-Fehr-Hendricks
Suter-Dumba Brodin-Spurgeon Seeler-Pateryn
Dubnyk Stalock
Nothing can be won in October, but teams can seriously hurt their playoff chances if they get out of the gate slowly.
Big year for the Wild and their new GM, Paul Fenton, the time is now for the Wild.
It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!
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