Wild Game Day number 72 Wild Record (32-28-11 75 pts) Home Record (17-13-4)
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes (31-27-13 75 pts) Road Record (14-15-7)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Time: 1:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 2/14 Hurricanes 3 @ Wild 6 3/6 Wild 3 @ Hurricanes 1
Last Result: 11/12 Wild 3 @ Hurricanes 2
The Wild playoff hopes took another big hit last night with the Avalanche 4-3 shootout victory in Calgary. Now three points back, the Wild can ill afford another loss today at home, against the Hurricanes. John Torchetti's team let three points slip away on the road trip with the OT loss in Ottawa on Tuesday and the dreadful 7-4 defeat in New Jersey on Thursday.
The Wild need to start winning and more importantly winning at the Xcel. This team came into the season with high aspirations and through the first half of the season it appeared that they were in a position to assert themselves as a legitimate contender. There is enough talent here to compete, albeit not enough to push them to the league's elite, definitely enough to be a solid playoff team that could put a scare into any first round opponent.
There are 11 games left and there is still a lot to play for. Of course the obvious is the playoffs, but there are roster spots up for grabs, and Torchetti is coaching for his future in this league. Torchetti has the chance to make a statement by making his players earn their ice time. He has shown some of that in his short tenure, but only with the younger players.
The veterans on this team have come up so small all year and they need to be held accountable. On Tuesday in Ottawa Mikko Koivu took an awful penalty in OT and when his penalty expired he took forever to get out of the box and back into the play. Ryan Suter looked like a starry eyed rookie trying to clear the puck from the crease on the first Devils goal on Thursday, then ended up flopping on the ice like a fish out of water as the puck crossed the line. Koivu and Suter need to be held responsible for their actions on the ice.
Torchetti, today is the day, a healthy Wild lineup gives him the perfect opportunity to change the guard. Time to give the prime ice to the youth and let the Wild playoff hopes rest in the hands of Niederreiter, Coyle, Haula, Dumba, Zucker, Spurgeon, Brodin, etc. Time to give the vets some bench and press box time and maybe just maybe they may come back more inspired.
Man up time in St. Paul today.
Let's Play Hockey!