Wild Game Day number 36 Wild Record (18-14-3 39 pts) Road Record (8-10-1)
Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning (25-7-2 52 pts) Home Record (14-2-1)
Site: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last result: 2/10 Lightning 1 @ Wild 2 (SO) 3/9 Wild 1 @ Lightning 4
The Wild wrap up their four game road trip tonight in Tampa after a tough loss in Sunrise last night against the Panthers. The loss marks the ninth time this season that the Wild have either been tied or had the lead in the 3rd period and did not come away with the 2 points. To add insult to injury Nino Niederreiter left the game and was in a walking boot post game.
Not good signs heading into the toughest road building in the league this season, where the Lightning have only lost 3 of 17 games played in Amalie Arena this season and just two in regulation.
Tampa is coming off a rare loss against Vegas which followed their seven game win streak. A healthy Steven Stamkos (13G,32pts) playing with Nikita Kucherov (23G,50pts) have formed the most lethal duo in the league.
Obviously Kucherov and Stamkos are not the only ones leading the Lightning charge as Tampa ranks 1st in scoring with 3.76 goals per game, and are fourth in the league in defense at 2.53 goals against per game.
The good news for the Wild is they have a tendency to play to the level of their competition, so they should raise their level tonight, but will it be enough to compete with the Lightning?
In order for the Wild to get back on the winning track they are going to need to get their speed game back on track. It is obvious that the team is not nearly as fast as they were last season. The addition of Matt Cullen and Marcus Foligno combined with Mikko Koivu appearing a step slower the Wild game has changed.
This is the area where Boudreau needs to make some serious adjustments in his line combinations and more importantly his ice time distribution. That of course is made that much more difficult with the Niederreiter injury.
Boudreau breaks the season down by week, and despite the Wild loss last night they still have the opportunity to win the week, and to return home with a .500 road trip. That of course will require his team to step up and to the task tonight against the NHL's best.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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