Wild Hobble Into Winnipeg Needing a Victory

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Oct 19, 2017
Columbus Blue Jackets' Alexander Wennberg, left, of Sweden, scores the winning goal in overtime against Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, right, during an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. The Blue Jackets won 5-4. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

What: Minnesota Wild (1-1-2; 4 PTS) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3-3-0; 6 PTS)
When/How: Friday, October 20 – 7:00 PM / FSN Plus – TV
Where: MTS Centre – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

It hasn’t been the start to the season the Wild were hoping for. It’s been the opposite. They’ve lost 3 of their first 4 games. Injuries haven’t helped. They will once again be without Zach Parise vs. Winnipeg. They will also be without Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter are out and will be for an extended period due to injuries.

However, some good news on the injury-front, Mikael Granlund is a game-time decision, after missing the last 3 games. We will see Foligno on the ice. He will be wearing a protective cage to protect his fractured face.

It was a slow start to the season. It happened last year too. I don’t know why the NHL sets it up this way but they will get things rolling along much more consistently now. They will play 6 games in 12 days including a game in Calgary a night after this one.

Boudreau says it’s like their season is just starting:

“It feels like, and I told the guys, it’s like we’re starting the season right now. The other games, I mean, it was like few and far between. But once we start playing, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to end playing until mid-December. So I mean, the season sort of starts for us starting tomorrow.”

As far as the Wild are concerned, they need to be much better in their own zone. I expect Suter to come back to his normal self after a -4 performance vs Columbus. This is a team that has touted its depth. Now it needs to show that. Veterans like Suter, Staal, Cullen, and Stewart need to show up early and often on Friday and Saturday. Injuries can’t be your excuse.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

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