Wild Try To Hold On To 8th Place In The West
By Mark Okern
Good afternoon State of Hockey!
In tonight’s tilt, the Wild will attempt to shutdown the Colorado Avalanche at home once again.
No major lineup changes expected. No Waeros (sorry, but it’s my term and I’m using it for as long as we play roster ping-pong) came up or went back down after Tuesday’s devastating loss to the Nashville Predators. Lundin and Staubitz remain scratches along with Marek Zidlicky (gee, such a shock). Mike Yeo said he liked what he saw for 50 minutes on Tuesday night. Let’s hope the team plays 60 tonight.
By the numbers, this game is heavily in our favor. The Wild are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games at the Pepsi Center, a record that should cause any Avs fan to dread seeing MIN on the schedule. Remember, the Wild beat the Avs 3-2 just before the all-star break. We aren’t going to be a popular bunch in Denver.
Niklas Backstrom will be between the pipes. He’s been a nightmare for the Avalanche; if his trend continues, Colorado will be lucky to find twine even twice in tonight’s game.
Live in-game commentary on Twitter as usual @gonepuckwild
A win tonight will keep the Wild in that precious 8th spot in the West. A Wild loss tonight will put Colorado one point ahead of Minnesota. With both the Avalanche and the Stars nipping at our heels, we need this to be a regulation win.