Wild Game Day number 38 Wild Record (20-10-7 45 pts) Road Record (6-5-6)
Opponent: Florida Panthers (22-12-4 48 pts) Home Record (12-5-2)
Site: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Time: 5:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 11/24 Wild 4 @ Panthers 1 2/12 Panthers 1 @ Wild 2
Tonight the Wild head to Sunrise to face the hottest team in the league, the Florida Panthers. Florida has won eight straight and fourteen of their last seventeen, riding their run to first place in the Atlantic Division. The Wild took both meetings with the Panthers last year holding the Panthers to one goal in both meetings.
The Panthers are led by the ageless, Jaromir Jagr, who at 43 is playing more like a player half his age. Jagr is leading the Panthers with 11 goals and 26 points. Aleksander Barkov is becoming a force in his third NHL season. The former 2nd overall pick has 23 points on 11 goals in 28 games this season, with 10 points in the last 8 games. Last season's rookie of the year Aaron Ekblad is just scratching the surface of the immense talent he has.
Al Montoya is expected to get the start for the Panthers tonight as Roberto Luongo is getting a scheduled night off. Devan Dubnyk will again be in the Wild net, coming off a very good performance last night in the 3-2 shootout loss last night.
Last night Mike Yeo was forced to juggle his lines to jump start an offense that was non existent in the first period. The positives that came about were, a much more balanced attack that really turned the tide in the Wild favor in the third period. Minnesota outshot Tampa 15-3 in the third and drew even on the scoreboard with Jared Spurgeon's goal at the 17:12 mark. The most noticeable adjustment saw Yeo shake up the first power play unit inserting Granlund for Vanek, and Dumba for Pominville. The result was two very good power plays in the third period, both with extended attack zone time and high percentage opportunities. Although they did not score a power play goal, they did have one disallowed, and the momentum they generated ultimately led to the tying goal.
The Wild need to come out strong tonight and establish their defensive zone dominance. They will have to weather an onslaught of pressure early, as the Panthers will come out flying behind the home folks. They are riding high with a tremendous level of confidence. In order to slow Panthers down, the Wild must dictate the flow and pace of the game, with strong defensive zone play combined with quick transition out of the zone. When the Wild play their game, they can beat anyone in any building. This is a big test for the Wild to establish that they can be a good road team. The Wild will play 16 of 27 games in January and February away from the Xcel, and they need to start playing better away from home.
Let's Play Hockey!