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Canes Present A Different Challenge |
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Wild Game Day number 4
Wild Record (1-1-1 3 pts)
Home Record (1-0-1)
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes (3-0-1 7 pts)
Road Record (1-0-0)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Time: 5:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season results:
10/7 Wild 4 @ Hurricanes 5 (SO)
3/6 Hurricanes 2 @ Wild 6
After gaining their first win of the season Thursday night at home against the rival Blackhawks the Wild look to keep things rolling as they host the Hurricanes this evening at 5PM. Minnesota took 3 of the 4 possible points last season in the two meetings with Carolina, but this is a different Hurricanes team.
Long time Cane and Stanley Cup champion, Rod Brind'amour is now behind the Hurricanes bench bringing a new approach to an already talented squad. Brind'amour was known for his tireless work ethic as a player and brings that same drive and compete level to the coaching ranks.
Carolina is off to a fast start having win their last three games after dropping the opener 2-1 in overtime against the Islanders. Their first two games were low scoring 2-1 and 3-1 affairs,while the last two have featured much higher scoring and wide open play as they beat the Rangers 8-5, and Vancouver 5-3.
Petr Mrazek is expected to be in goal tonight for the Hurricanes sporting a 1-0-1 record and a very pedestrian 3.53 GAA, but an alarming 84.1% save percentage. This will be the second game in a row the Wild will be facing a goalie that has not lost in regulation, but enters the contest with some pretty ugly goals against and save percentage numbers.
The Wild made Cam Ward look much better than his early season numbers indicated on Thursday before finally beating him with a late goal to tie the game, and ultimately win it in the extra frame.
Tonight's opponent will present a different challenge for the Wild as the Canes bring far more offense from their defense and are a much faster team top to bottom than the Blackhawks.
Opponents speed has been an issue for the Wild during the early going, and tonight will be another challenge for Boudreau's team.
It is no secret that the Wild are one of the older teams in the league and their speed will be a question mark especially their fourth line. That said the bigger issue for Minnesota in their first two games was the fact that too often they tried to make plays standing still.
The Blackhawks game was a step in the right direction for the Wild but still a lot of work needs to be done. Experience is absolutely a great advantage, but there is no substitute for moving your feet always as the NHL is a speed game, and a lot of the experience advantage is nullified by younger, faster opponents.
Boudreau will once again be challenged with finding the right line combinations to create the necessary offense, while continuing to play the Wild shutdown defense game.
Jordan Greenway was shifted from centering the third line to playing the right wing on Eric Staal and Jason Zucker's line. That move paid immediate dividends in the second period where they struck for two goals drawing the Wild back to tie the game.
Joel Eriksson moved back to center taking Greenway's place between Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle. Mikael Granlund will once again begin the game with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise.
The Wild fourth line will remain the same, with Eric Fehr centering Marcus Foligno and either J.T. Brown, who made his Wild debut on Thursday or Matt Hendricks, depending on what Boudreau decides.
Ryan Suter had an impressive night Thursday and looks to be getting stronger with each game. The Wild defense is a much deeper unit this season with the addition of Greg Pateryn and further maturation of Nick Seeler. That takes a lot of pressure off the top four.
80s night at the Xcel Energy Center should be very entertaining.
The Wild have teamed up with the American Red Cross in support of Hurricane Florence victims. Fans attending tonight's game can donate to the American Red Cross as volunteers will be in attendance to collect monetary donations. Fans can also make a $10 donation by texting the word FLORENCE to 90999.
It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!
Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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