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Minnesota Wild: Preparing for First Game In Des Moines, Iowa

By Cody Defoe

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: Eric Staal #12 celebrates his goal with teammates Matt Dumba #24, Jason Zucker #16 and Mikael Granlund #64 of the Minnesota Wild against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: Eric Staal #12 celebrates his goal with teammates Matt Dumba #24, Jason Zucker #16 and Mikael Granlund #64 of the Minnesota Wild against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Preseason Game 1 didn’t go quite as planned for the Minnesota Wild. Tonight they are bringing out the big guns for a showdown with the St.Louis Blues

Puck Drop will be at 7pm central time, coming from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The Minnesota Wild will take on the St.Louis Blues. This will be the first ever NHL preseason game to be played at the home arena of the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Look for the crowd to be a raucous one tonight.

Forwards

Tonight’s roster is a major shift from Mondays Line-up. Only 3 forwards will remain to play in their second preseason game. The line of Marcus Foligno, Eric Fehr, and Justin Kloos was the best line on the ice Monday, and will look to keep that momentum going.

Kloos is one of only four centers in tonight’s lineup, so we could look to see him centering his own line. Matt Read is drawing into tonight’s game and could take the wing alongside Foligno and Fehr.

Look for Mason Shaw and Dmitry Sokolov, both coming off strong performances in Traverse City, to have the first crack and creating some offense with Kloos. Sokolov has a lot to prove after being embarrassed during coach Boudreau’s conditioning skate.

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The big story in tonight’s game will be that the Minnesota Wild’s projected top line of Eric Staal, Jason Zucker, and Mikael Granlund will get to see their first game action together. These 3 all had monster years last season, and should look to come out flying tonight.

In a preseason game, against players fighting for NHL jobs, look for the Wild’s top performers to assert their reason for being lined up together Anything less than multi-point nights should be seen as a disappointing performance.

The final line should look to be made up of camp hopefuls Cal O’Reilly and Landon Ferraro, lining up with new signee Mike Liambas. Expect a fight or two out of Liambas as he tries to make an impression on the Minnesota Wild coaches

This lineup looks like opening night’s top line, and a potential 4th line combo playing alongside 6 players expected to be returned to the AHL club for opening night. I expect the first line to be all over the ice, hopefully they can set the tempo for the rest of the team all night.

Defense

Playing alongside the #1 Forward line, will be the projected #2 defensive pairing. Mathew Dumba and Jonas Brodin will get into their first game looking to shake off any preseason rust.

Dumba has extremely high expectations set on him this season, after his new contract signed came out to be a little high on the price side. This game will be his first opportunity to step out of Ryan Suter’s shadow and prove his own value, as he will play the role of #1 Defense tonight.

Ryan Murphy is the only defenseman that gets a chance to play his second game tonight. Linemate Louie Belpedio will sit out this game, so Murphy will try to replicate his strong Game 1 performance with a new defensive partner.

Looking to play the role of “#4” in tonight’s Minnesota Wild preseason contest will be Eric Martinsson, Brennan Menell, and Hunter Warner. Expect to see these 3 rotating around the defensive pairings to find the best fit through the night.

Menell had a great prospect tournament, playing on both sides of the defense and looking overall solid through the tournament. I expect he should see the first few shifts with Murphy until Boudreau gets an idea for how to best utilize these defensemen.

Goalies

Alex Stalock will get the start tonight, looking to 1-up the performance from Andrew Hammond on Monday Night. After Hammond’s strong performance against the Jets, Stalock will have to be on his game to stave off his goaltending competition this preseason.

Kaapo Kahkonen will be on the bench in this one, looking to draw in for some action later in the game. I thought we’d see Baribeau in Game 1, but was surprised to see Boudreau fail to make the goalie switch mid-game. I won’t be surprised to see Stalock play the full 60.

Kahkonen will likely be splitting time in the AHL this year with either Stalock or Hammond, so it is key for him to take every opportunity as a chance to learn. He should be fighting to get as many starts in Iowa as he can alongside his NHL counterparts.

Hammond gave up 1 good goal, 1 no-goal, and 1 questionable goal on 30 shots in game 1. Stalock has his work cut out for him in this one.

St. Louis Blues

Key notes from the St.Louis Blues line-up tonight include top defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Joel Edmundson to counter the scoring punch of the Minnesota Wild’s top line. These two are likely St.Louis’s top pairing, and should prove a challenge for the Staal line to move around.

Long time Blues forwards Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn,  and Alex Steen will be joined by offseason arrival David Perron to form the top scoring threats to the Minnesota Wild.

Schwartz is a proven competitor and top 6 forward, but I expect Dumba and Brodin to form a pairing that will cause St.Louis coach Mike Yeo headaches all night.

Blues forward Robby Fabbri will be making his return to the NHL ice for the first time since last year’s preseason, and has not seen an NHL regular season game in nearly 2 years due to injury problems. Look for him to be trying to rediscover his offensive game and shake off the rust.

Ville Husso will get the start in net for St.Louis. Husso is a former 4th round pick who has spent the last 2 seasons in the AHL. Fighting for a spot in the Blues goalie rotation may not be easy. On paper he looks like a soft matchup, but I said the same thing last game and was proven wrong.

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Prediction:

This lineup appears to be one sided for sure, as the Wild ice their top line and more against the Blues top defensive line and pairing. These 2 teams don’t tend to run and gun very often, so I’ll project a 4-2 final for the Minnesota Wild.

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