Wild Game Day number 19
Wild Record (11-5-2 24 pts)
Home Record (6-1-2)

Opponent: Vancouver Canucks (10-8-2 22 pts)
Road Record (5-6-2)

Site: Xcel Energy Center, St.Paul, MN

Time: 7:00PM CT

TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)

Last Season Result:
10/24 Canucks 1 @ Wild 0
1/14 Canucks 3 @ Wild 2
3/9 Wild 5 @ Canucks 2

Last result:
10/29 Wild 2 @ Canucks 5

Tonight the Wild will put Tuesday's 5-2 drubbing in the past and focus on getting back to the game that they have been playing for the majority of the first month and a half of the season. They will be looking to exact revenge on the Canucks who beat them 5-2, back on October 29, the start of the Wild's seven game road trip.

Vancouver has dropped their last three (last 2 in regulation) after running off a streak of six games (4-0-2) in which they were unbeaten in regulation, that began with their victory over Minnesota.

It is unfortunate that Burnsville's own, Brock Boeser, will not be in the Canucks lineup this evening as he is currently on IR with a groin injury.

The Canucks are wrapping up their own six game road trip (1-2-2) with an aim at evening the trip with a win tonight. Vancouver has won the past three trips to the Xcel, and four of the past five. The XCel Energy Center is typically a house of horrors for Wild opponents, but the Canucks have found something here and have turned the tables on the Wild in St. Paul.

This is a good opponent for the Wild, who clearly experienced a full letdown, after returning home, following their impressive 5-2-0 seven game road trip. The effort was just not there from the very beginning, the attention to detail was lax,and the hungry Caps took full advantage.

Taking nothing away from the defending Stanley Cup champions effort, but similar to the Wild victory in their first meeting with the Blues in St. Louis. Tuesday's outcome was just as much a factor of the Wild playing a poor game as it was that the Capitals playing one of their best of the young season.

Time to put that gamein the rear view mirror and focus on tonight's opponent, the Canucks. Vancouver plays an up tempo game which has presented the Wild issues in the past. Tonight the keys will be for the Wild to keep the feet moving and take away the time and space of the Canucks.The neutral zone will be huge for the Wild, and winning will start there. How well the Wild forwards force the Canucks to maneuver through the middle, not allowing them to hit the Wild line with speed.

For the Wild the defense is going to need to be active as they have been most of the year. Keeping the Canuck forwards honest in the defensive zone will not only create scoring opportunities for the Wild but also slow the Canuck breakout.

Richard Bachman is expected in net for Vancouver while Devan Dubnyk, looks to erase his worst performance of the season for the Wild.

Wild projected lines:
Zucker-Staal-Granlund
Parise-Koivu-Niederreiter
ErikssonEk-Coyle-Greenway
Foligno-Fehr-Brown

Suter-Dumba
Brodin-Spurgeon
Seeler-Pateryn

Dubnyk
Stalock

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

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