Four points up for grabs this weekend before Wild pauses for bye week

The Wild will pause its season next week for a five-day break in the schedule and the team could make the timeout a little easier to take with four more points in its own stash.

January 12, 2018 at 7:36PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Wild will pause its season next week for a five-day break in the schedule and while idle, it could be tough to watch other clubs bank points.

But the team could make the timeout a little easier to take with four more points in its own stash.

That's the opportunity that awaits the Wild with a rare back-to-back at home this weekend starting Saturday against the Jets before the team hosts the Canucks Sunday.

Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau watches during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. This was the first game back in Anaheim for Boudreau after leaving the Ducks last year. The Wild won 2-1. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) ORG XMIT: MIN2017013018061766
(AP/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"We gotta take care of business ourselves," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We can't rely on other teams. I've pretty well got the schedule down pat for everybody, so they're going to play and teams are playing against each other. So somebody's going to pick up points. You can't avoid it. There's 12 teams that every given night are going to gain on you."

Special-teams play could headline the Wild's matchup against its Central Division rival, the Jets.

After the power play went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Blackhawks, the unit has scored just twice in the past six games – a 2-for-19 skid.

Winnipeg, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with the man advantage amid a 25.6 percent efficiency – even after losing center Mark Scheifele to an upper-body injury last month that will sideline him for six-to-eight weeks.

The Wild worked on its power play during Friday's practice at Xcel Energy Center, with the two improvements Boudreau would like to see a more consistent net-front presence and quicker puck movement.

"We move pucks, they can't get to the areas and good things happen," Boudreau explained. "When you're slow and people are allowed to box up, it's easy to kill."

During the session, defenseman Mike Reilly was clipped with a puck in the mouth. Boudreau said Reilly didn't lose any teeth but left to get stitches.

Here's how the Wild skated:

Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Mikael Granlund

Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Charlie Coyle

Tyler Ennis-Joel Eriksson Ek-Chris Stewart

Marcus Foligno-Matt Cullen-Daniel Winnik

Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba

Gustav Olofsson-Nate Prosser

about the writer

about the writer

Sarah McLellan

Minnesota Wild and NHL

Sarah McLellan covers the Wild and NHL. Before joining the Minnesota Star Tribune in November 2017, she spent five years covering the Coyotes for The Arizona Republic.

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