Wild Game Day number 26 Wild Record (14-9-2 30 pts) Home Record (8-3-2)
Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (18-8-0 36 pts) Road Record (9-3-0)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St.Paul, MN
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 11/8 Wild 2 @ Maple Leafs 4 12/14 Maple Leafs 2 @ Wild 0
Is it irony that the Wild host the Leafs on the deadline for the Toronto to act on William Nylander if he is going to play today?
It is no secret that the Wild need to make some significant roster adjustments if they first plan on making the playoffs, and then to have some long term success once they get there.
When last season ended Wild owner, Craig Leipold, made it very clear that the Wild were a good team not a great team. The fact that the roster is essentially the same, yet the GM is new, says to me, there is heat from above to make changes to the Wild's makeup.
I am not saying that Nylander is the right move or not, but he certainly addresses a need.
Fenton had been on record as saying that he knew the Wild roster was solid and that he didn't have to make any deals when he first arrived. That is just a line that he spoke, following the Wild's solid first six weeks of the season. It was not exactly true, nor was it an accurate portrayal of how the team's brass feels about the current roster, regardless of the record.
Fenton did also make comments along the lines that their is no reason to make changes until their is a crisis. That too is a smoke screen, or at least it better be, because if there is an opportunity to make your roster better, that needs to be explored thoroughly.
We know that Paul Fenton prefers to make "hockey trades" which leads us to believe that if and when he finally pulls the trigger it will be well before the trade deadline.
The Wild have hit a low point the last couple of weeks losing their last two games, and four out of their past six. Devan Dubnyk has struggled over that stretch as well winning just once (1-4-0) in his last six starts.
Dubnyk has been prone to periods of ineffective play during his Wild tenure. This appears to be one of those such stretches, but how and when will it end?
Bruce Boudreau made the tough decision to pull his starting goalie, nearly two weeks ago at home vs.Ottawa, after the Senators scored three third period goals to erase a 3-goal Wild lead. Alex Stalock came in and Eric Staal delivered the game winner.
Boudreau said after the game that he never had done something like that in the past but felt that Dubnyk had lost his confidence and the move had to be made. So what has been the difference in the games since then? Is there a goalie issue with the Wild?
I can't go to the term controversy, because the Wild essentially have only one goalie that is a legitimate starter in this league. Devan Dubnyk has proven that he is one of the NHL's best goalies over the last 5 seasons, but in order for the Wild to achieve the success they expect, Dubnyk must regain his form.
Tonight presents a significant challenge for the Wild, as the Leafs enter tonight's contest with the league's 3rd highest offense, 5th best powerplay, with the league's 5th highest shooting percentage. On the defense side the Leafs allow the 3rd fewest goals per game, presenting an even greater challenge for the recently struggling Wild.
The Wild have been victims of playing down to the level of some of their recent opponents, so tonight is the chance to raise their level to that of the Leafs. If not the questions about the current makeup, will most certainly become more magnified.
Wild projected lines: Zucker-Staal-Granlund Parise-Koivu-Coyle Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Greenway Brown-Fehr-Niederreiter
Suter-Dumba Brodin-Spurgeon Seeler-Pateryn
Dubnyk Stalock
It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!
Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17