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Wild Look to Extend Point Streak in FLA

December 3, 2019, 4:50 PM ET [2 Comments]
Dan Wallace
Minnesota Wild Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Another three game road trip for the Wild which this time has them escaping the Minnesota cold for Florida as they take on the Panthers tonight then to Tampa Thursday before wrapping up in Carolina on Saturday.

The boys have gotten their act together and the turnaround has moved the Wild to within two points of the final playoff spot. A position that seemed light years away just a few short weeks ago.

Bruce Boudreau has done a masterful job getting this Wild team that seemed old tired and slow for much of the first month, to become a much more disciplined squad that is getting production from every line and the bigger news is that those lines have remained intact for much of the past month.

That continuity that has formed within the units is providing Boudreau the ability to go with the hot hand when he needs a spark. For much of the first part of November the top line of Staal, Zucker, Zuccarello led the way and most recently it has been the trio of Koivu, Parise, and Fiala that have taken the lead. The GEEK Squad as they Greenway, Eriksson Ek, and Kunin have performed very well in their shutdown roll and the offense is beginning to come as well.

The Wild goaltending has been very good despite the absence of Devan Dubnyk. Alex Stalock has stepped up his game and is delivering on a more consistent basis than at any part of his Wild career.

The defense has always been the staple for the Wild and this year is no exception with the top four mainstays Suter, Spurgeon, Dumba, and Brodin, however the play of rookie Carson Soucy has been very impressive as he has played himself into the lineup over Nick Seeler who was expected to play the left side on the third pair.

Soucy's partner Brad Hunt has also played very well with Greg Pateryn on the shelf all season. That all may change soon as Pateryn has accepted the conditioning assignment to Iowa so it may not be long before he is ready to go.

Healthy competition can only be a good thing especially for this Wild team that is built on the next man up philosophy.

Every game is tough in the NHL and road trips are never easy and this one presents the Wild with probably their toughest trip yet. If they can come back with four out of six points again then I believe they will be turning some heads.

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