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Road Trip Resumes Against Suddenly Potent Blues Offense |
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Wild Game Day number 13
Wild Record (7-3-2 16 pts)
Road Record (2-3-0)
Opponent: St. Louis Blues (4-4-3 11 pts)
Home Record (3-13-1)
Site: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
Time: 7:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results:
11/25 Wild 3 @ Blues 6
12/2 Blues 1 @ Wild 2 (OT)
2/6 Wild 6 @ Blues 2
2/27 Blues 3 @ Wild 8
The Wild seven game road trip resumes tonight in St.Louis, where the Blues ironically are in the midst of a seven game home stand. St. Louis is two and one so far during this two and half week stretch of home contests, having won the last two.
Those two wins have seen the Blues score 12 goals as their offense is really starting to click. Scoring 24 goals over the last five games, after scoring just 17 though their first six games, the Blues may just be starting to figure things out after making some significant roster changes over the Summer.
St. Louis was a popular preseason pick to compete for the Central Division crown, but things have not gone as planned for the Blues through the first month of the season. Ryan O'Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Maroon, and David Perron were acquired during a very active offseason for Blues GM, Doug Armstrong.
After muddling through October, the Blues may have found their groove and the Wild better be prepared after a few good days of practice. The slow starting Wild can't afford to keep putting themselves in the come from behind position. Boudreau must figure out a way to get his team out of the gate better.
Shots on goal are just a statistic though, and the Wild are being outshot heavily in first periods this season, but the quality of those shots is where the Wild team defense is doing it's job keeping the majority to the lower probability range.
Wild projected lines:
Zucker Staal Niederreiter
Parise Koivu Granlund
Eriksson Ek Coyle Greenway
Foligno Fehr Brown
Suter Dumba
Brodin Spurgeon
Seeler Pateryn
Dubnyk
Stalock
In other Wild news:
Nate Prosser, who of course the Wild reacquired off waivers from St. Louis last November, has been assigned to Iowa on a conditioning assignment, having played in just one game so far this season, logging under four minutes of ice time in that lone contest.
Wild GM, Paul Fenton is traveling to Russia to meet with Wild top prospect Kirill Karizov. A good sign of open communication, with face to face interaction being the best way for the new GM to strengthen the relationship with the Wild's prized prospect.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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