A huge win in DC last night and as we discussed yesterday it followed the script the 2019-20 Minnesota Wild have written. Winning games they have no business being in and then confounding their fans with disappointing follow up.

Tonight the boys catch the Hurricanes who are battling for their playoff lives as well in the East. The Canes have won 9 of their last 13 (9-3-1).

The big take away from the Wild win was the key contributors being the next generation, Jordan Greenway. Luke Kunin, and Ryan Donato. The kids are the focal point of the Wild moving forward and yesterday's performance will go a long way in establishing their roles even more.

It is the first meeting between the two teams since the trade that sent popular winger. Nino Niederreiter, to Carolina in exchange for Victor Rask.

To say that deal has worked out for Carolina is a gross understatement, as Nino (12 goals, 12 assista in 24 games) found his scoring touch while Rask picked up right where he left off with the Hurricanes, missing a good chunk of time and when he is in the lineup, largely underwhelming.

The Niederreiter/Rask deal was the first significant move of the Paul Fenton era and signalled that he was going to fire a hole through the Wild core that had failed to deliver for far too long. Subsequent deals that jettisoned long time Wild forwards. Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund have changed the complexion of the Wild roster.

The difficult task of retooling a roster while not blowing it up totally is not an easy task. Fenton has made his moves and the Wild have responded with mixed results. Some impressive wins combined with more disappointment.

In all the Wild game is better suited to compete in today's faster NHL, and Fenton has more flexibility to work the roster further in the off season.

For now the focus is on finding the right buttons to push with this group to get them on a roll with belief that they can sustain the effort they delivered in mn Washington.

Arizona left the door open with their shootout loss in New Jersey earlier today, time for the Wild to find their way through.

It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!

Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17

Join the Discussion: » 8 Comments » Post New Comment

» Walker Up, Goligoski On LTIR

» Wild Look To Tighten Up The D Zone

» New Season Of Hope For Wild

» Kirill Gets The "A"

» Zuccarello Extended For 2 Years