Tonight will be another litmus test game for the Wild who are riding a five game win streak. Colorado will have Cale Makar back in the lineup and his presence alone changes the dyanmic of the already ultra talented Avalanche squad.

For the Wild their challenge is going to be matching the Avalanche speed. The first time the two teams met back in St. Paul, prior to the Wild Covid-19 outbreak, the Avalanche were by far the faster more skilled squad, rolling to a fairly easy 5-1 victory. The Wild rebounded the following day to take a 4-3 OT decision.

The teams have split the last two both in Denver, with the Avalanche winning 2-1 and the Wild taking the most recent contest by a 6-2 margin.

It is important for the Wild to continue their upward momentum and not get too caught up in reading their own press. Dean Evason and his staff have done a very good job of keeeping the players motivated and creating the internal competition for ice time at a premium.

Cam Talbot will get the start tonight as he is coming off two of his best performances of the season in back to back victories over the Coyotes in which he allowed just one goal. It must have been a very difficult decision as to who would get the net tonight, which again is a significant factor in the Wild success.

The Wild goaltending has been excellent thus far, and looking back to Bill Guerin's post mortem from last season, he blasted the Wild goaltending saying that it had to be better. Message received and two fresh faces have created a healthy competition for the Wild net.

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

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