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Atlantic Division Trip Begins with Matinee in TO |
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Hoping that the road will be the cure for what ails the Wild woes of late. They are getting plenty of scoring opportunities, but struggling to finish.
That is always going to be a challenge for a team built on a balanced scoring attack. That becomes magnified when they lose their top offensive defenseman and arguably their best offensive talent in Matt Dumba.
The Wild have been prone to offensive slumps over the years, but this one seems to be more alarming. There is no arguing the fact that the Wild are the oldest team in the NHL and the natural decline in both speed and skill are at play with the current roster.
Experience is key, but youthful exuberance is a trait the Wild are sorely missing. That may be the biggest element of Dumba's game that is absent from the Wild as #24 plays the game with a fire that no other Minnesota player possesses on a game by game basis.
Toronto for a matinee today does not seem like the ideal setting for the Wild to right the ship, but the fact that they will be facing Michael Hutchinson in the Leafs goal is a good start. Both Leafs goalies, Frederik Andersen and Garret Sparks are injured giving the newly acquired Hutchinson his first start as a Maple Leaf.
The Wild have been in a habit of making their opposing netminder look like Vezina finalists the last several weeks and if that is the case again today with Hutchinson....
I believe you all can fill in the rest.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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