At the beginning of what's being hyped as a make-or-break seven-game, 12-day stretch, the Wild has called upon backup goalie Alex Stalock to start Tuesday at home against the Blackhawks.
"He's played pretty well for us," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Why not go back to him? His record, he's got [11] wins. We're hoping to find lightning in a bottle from somebody. Al can give a spark."
This will be Stalock's 24th start of the season, which will set a career high. Stalock started 23 games last season and in 2017-18.
"It's fun playing games," said Stalock, who's 7-2-1 at Xcel Energy Center this season. "Anytime you get to play games, it's a ton of fun. Obviously, we're in the highest league in the world and anytime you get a chance to start is a great opportunity. The Chicago Blackhawks in the building, it's going to be a good crowd. Obviously, a lot on the line."
The Wild made another substitution from the lineup that played Saturday and was overwhelmed 6-1 by the Bruins.
Defenseman Brad Hunt will sub in for Greg Pateryn on the third pairing. This will be Hunt's first game since Jan.9, as he was scratched for the previous seven games.
"I don't want the same thing to happen to Hunt that happened to [Nick] Seeler," Boudreau said, referring to the defenseman who was claimed off waivers by Chicago on Monday after he was scratched for most of the season with the Wild. "[Hunt] played the first [44] games for us and was quite good. So, we gotta keep guys in the lineup. And I told Pateryn that, too. There wasn't anything about his game. It was just I gotta get Huntsy some playing time."
Projected lineup:
