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This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses “Russo’s Rants” to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3 FM) radio and seen weekly on Fox Sports North.

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Wild playoff updates: Backstrom, Pominville remain day-to-day; Kuemper recalled

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: May 1, 2013 - 3:15 PM

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Fresh off its 2-1 overtime loss last night in Chicago, the Wild assembled at Xcel Energy Center today after flying back home following the game. With two off-days before Game 2 Friday and the team having been in a playoff grind lately, the short flight between here and Chicago gave the opportunity for the team to come home, sleep in their own beds, use their own facilities, etc.
 
The Wild didn’t practice today, but most the players came down for meetings or treatment. Scratches Nate Prosser, Brett Clark and Justin Falk were on the ice today with goalie Darcy Kuemper, who was recalled from AHL Houston.

Niklas Backstrom, who was injured in warmups last night, was down at the rink getting looked at today. Coach Mike Yeo said he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. But the way Backstrom skated off yesterday, I think the assumption now is Harding will start Game 2 with Kuemper backing him up.
 
Jason Pominville continues to be day-to-day and, like I said, was not on the ice with last night’s scratches. Obviously a lot of guys looked to be banged up last night. Matt Cullen seemed to aggravate his injury. Clayton Stoner only played a few shifts in the first and 8 minutes in the game after getting hit hard by Andrew Shaw. Several guys, like Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Ryan Suter, blocked some shots from close-range, so I’m sure they’re smarting.
 
But as far as Yeo knows now, the guys that played in Game 1 should be ready for Game 2. We will see at Thursday’s practice before the team returns to Chicago.
 
Harding says he is feeling good today and if need be, he can start Friday. He didn’t see Backstrom get injured in warmups.
 
Mikko came and said, ‘Hards, get in there,’” Harding said. “I went in and finished warmup, and I took the end shots, and I thought that somebody would tell me if I wasn’t playing so I just prepared like I was playing.”
 
He left the ice with three or four minutes left like the starter would. He say in his stall and there was no sign of Backstrom.
 
“I just kind of took it as I’m playing until somebody comes and tells me I’m not,” Harding said.
 
Harding has gotten an outpouring of support due to his multiple sclerosis. Michael J. Fox tweeted about him last night. Same with former teammate Eric Nystrom. Jonathan Toews told the Chicago press today that his performance last night was “nothing short of amazing.”
 
As you know, Harding has made it clear he wants to be treated normally, that he’s just one player on the roster, and doesn’t want to make this about MS.
 
“I have to take care of my business, and there’s a lot of time in the summer to get caught up on all that stuff,” he said.
 
Yesterday late in warmups, Zach Parise skated up to Harding along the red line and gave him a few words of support and a tap with his stick.
 
Parise said he basically told him it was his time.
 
“He’s a leader on this team,” Harding said. “He helps guys out when they need it, and he just gave me a little bit of a boost, and I really appreciated it. I thanked him after the game.”
 
Lot of questions about the Wild’s backup situation if an injury arose to Harding or he had to be pulled. Basically, it can only be a player on your roster, so since the Wild didn’t have Kuemper there, it would have had to be a position player.
 
On last night’s game, Yeo said, “One thing I thought that we did well is we played a good structured game. But for me one key is take that structure and to add a physical element to it. We definitely need to bring a nastiness to our game. There were situations where we could have done that. The flip side is you have to make sure against a team like that, you start running around and take yourself out of position, they’ll gladly take a hit to make a play to score a goal. But that’s one area we can improve as a team is bringing that physical element within the structure of our game.
 
“We have to make sure that we’re making their D pay a price. We have to make sure we’re getting pucks behind them and I thought our forecheck wasn’t enough a factor in the game for us. A lot of that for me was our entries coming through neutral zone. We turned a few pucks over. Especially early in the game, we have to do a better job of setting the tone.”
 
On a power play that doesn’t include Charlie Coyle on the first unit, Yeo said Kyle Brodziak has “been there a lot more and we've had a lot of success when he has been there. So that's what it comes down to. He's also another faceoff guy.” (in other words if Mikko Koivu’s booted from the circle).
 
On the power play that went 0 for 4, Yeo said, “We just sat down and watched it again and broke it down and we're planning on sitting down with the guys now as well. For me, it's sort of the mentality we brought. I thought that we were a little too slow and a little too passive against a team that plays tight, they play to the inside, so if you're not aggressive and ready to attack in certain situations than it's pretty easy for them to keep you to the outside.”
 
Yeo definitely got defensive about questions about the lack of offensive chances by Parise, Koivu and Coyle against Toews’ line:
 
“The challenge is, now what if we score the overtime winner? What's the story today? Are they saying what a great job that our top line did and how their top line needs to find more, because 5-on-5 they didn't have much either. And that's one important thing to remember. The difference in the game was we scored one 5-on-5 goal, and they scored one 5-on-5 goal, and they got one power play [goal] and we didn't.”
 
Still, the Blackhawks have a lot more weapons. I’ll just plainly say it, no chance the Wild wins the series if the top line doesn’t find a way to get more scoring chances.
 
“Right,” Yeo said. “But at the same time, we also need them to play defensively the same way they did. And this is kind of what we talked about last night. We have to continue to have the same defensive focus and game plan but if we go out there and we just try to outscore those guys shift after shift than they can hurt you to.
So it's building within our game and that has to be the base of it, but now we've got to piece by piece get a little bit better. And there are areas that we can get better -- in particular in the offensive zone. We weren't there enough and we didn't stay there long enough when we were there. This time of year, getting pucks through to the net, creating those scrums, that's how a good majority of those goals are scored.”

Game 2 is crucial.
 
“Well there's no question there's a big difference between being 1-1 and down 2-0,” Yeo said. “But having said that, we have to make sure we approach it with the right mindset. We have to go in with desperation for sure, but our goal is to get the split and that's what we're focused on.

I'll update this with some more Parise stuff after I transcribe.

I will be on KFAN at 5:20 with Dan Barriero and on KFAN Thursday morning from 9:15-11 a.m. with Paul Allen.

CHICAGO STUFF TODAY, courtesy of my friend, Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun

ODUYA
on Suter playing 41 minutes
“He’s a tremendous defenceman. There aren’t many guys around who can do that. We want to force him to make as many tough plays as possible, try and wear him down, even though that’s very tough. We have enough forwards to keep him busy. If we keep playing our game eventually we’ll eventually break through him.”

on Minnesota shutting things down, protecting Harding.
“We know they’re doing a great job trying to block as many shots as possible, but if our game is working we’re going to fine.”


TOEWS
on Wild style
“That’s how they’ve played us all season. We kind of expected that in Game 1 and it’s not going to change. It’s up to us to keep being as tough as we can on their goaltender, get more second efforts and more traffic. We have to keep wearing them down as much as we can.
“We like to think of ourselves as an offensive team that can score in a lot of different ways.

on Harding
“It’s nothing short of amazing. I have a lot of respect for a guy like that... I read his quotes about not wanting any sympathy, he’s going to keep working, keep playing. You have to respect an opponent like that, especially when he’s going through something like that. Seeing the way he played, the stops he made was pretty cool. We know he’s stepping into that spot light an assuming that responsibility, which isn’t an easy thing to do... but what we want to do as a team is be tougher on their goaltender. We need to do that.”

SHARP
“That’s a lot to do with their coaching staff over there and the way they play the game, well disciplined, good in all areas. There’s not going to be too many easy games or easy opportunities to score. But we feel comfortable playing that style of game. We’ve propven we can be successful playing that way.”

Playing through adversity like Harding is:
“It seems commonplace in today’s game, especially hockey, to play through injuries and different situations. You have to tip your hat to what Josh is going through on their side. It’s pretty amazing that he’s able to play at the level he does, it’s an inspiration for a lot of people. My personal story would probably be Duncan Keith in the playoffs in 2010. I don’t even know if he missed a shift, maybe one or two, after he lost nine teeth. That’s one thing that was pretty impressive to me.”
“Sometimes when you have bumps and bruises or minor injuries you look to the guy next to you that is dealing with something much worse and it makes it a little easier.”

No mullet for him, just Saad and Kane
“In 2010 Kaner and I got the mullets originally but I backed out the day before the first game. I didn’t want to deal with my mom and dad giving me heck after every game, telling me I look like an idiot. We’ll leave that up to those two.”


SEABROOK
on Suter
“It was unbelievable. During the game we noticed he was out there quite a bit. Then we saw the sheet after the game and he had 41 minutes. It was unbelievable. I remember Dunc and I played 30 minutes at the end of overtime and it felt like a lot. 41 is pretty crazy.”


QUENNEVILLE
On the Oduya pass off the glass to set up the OT winner: “I think that was one of the best indirect passes you’ll ever see. I think Johhny saw the play unfolding and meant to do that. It turned out to be a special pass.”

Fighting through Minnesota’s style: “I expected a tight series, low scoring games. Minnesota has always defending the front of their net extremely well. The clean looks through the middle of the ice in their end are going to be hard to find.
“If we want to play a pretty game into that type of traffic it’s going to lead to them having some success. We have to play an uglier game.”
 

Pominville likely, Scandella to play for Wild in Game 1

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 29, 2013 - 2:09 PM

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UPDATED: (I will be hosting a live chat on startribune.com at 3 p.m. Tuesday)

Wild forward Jason Pominville, who missed the last two games of the regular season with a head injury, was back in practice this morning and back on his line with Kyle Brodziak and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Coach Mike Yeo didn't say definitively if he will be available for Game 1, ... but he's obviously returning, which will deepen the Wild's lines against a Chicago team that isn't afraid to roll four.

"[Pominville] looked good in practice today," said Yeo. "He's a big part of our team in a lot of areas. The offenisve threat that he is, smart player, plays in all situations for us, and as much as anything else, the experience that he has in the playoffs and his leadership, obviously he's a big part of our team."

Fourth line has Mike Rupp, Torrey Mitchell and Cal Clutterbuck. Basically, look at yesterday's blog and those projected lines are correct.

The defense pairings are different.

Marco Scandella, a 2008 second-round pick that has played 89 NHL games, is here and skated with Jared Spurgeon, meaning Scandella will immediately be thrust into the lineup and make his playoff debut. In fact, Ryan Suter is the only D with playoff experience.

Scandella has played a lot of minor-league playoff games and is coming off two good ones for Houston.

"We've seen Marco play a lot of good games," Yeo said. "The skating ability, the big body, the execution, his best games are very, very good, and that's what we're counting on him to come up and bring."

He has had a rocky, injury-filled year, but the reports from the two Aeros postseason games were "excellent," said Yeo. "And in a lot of ways, that's sort of what we've been waiting for. ... A lot of it for us has been getting him to the point where he was back and comfortable and he was playing well. We weren't sure when this was going to happen, and we were hoping it was going to happen a little bit earlier, but we are happy to have him here."

Clayton Stoner is with Tom Gilbert. Justin Falk is the extra. Obviously that's a kick to the stomach of Falk, who has been here all year and is benched for somebody who has been in the minors most the year. He was clearly frustrated but took the high road. Yeo said, "We need everybody here committed to winning, and getting here is very important, but we're not satisfied with just getting here. Things can change in a hurry. There's sacrifices to be made. What's really important is everybody keeps a good attitude."

Stephane Veilleux was reassigned.

On playing the Hawks, Yeo said, "Game 1 it resets. We know that they're a good team and we have a lot of respect for them, but everything starts fresh right now. We've won zero games and they've won zero games."

In one interesting note, the Wild will return to Minnesota after Game and is scheduled to practice here Wednesday and Thursday as opposed to staying in Chicago for the two off-days.

Dave Bolland and Ray Emery didn't practice for Chicago today and have been ruled out by coach Joel Quenneville.

Here are the Blackhawks updated lines:

Saad—Toews—Hossa
Sharp—Handzus—Kane
Bickell—Shaw—Stalberg
Bollig—Kruger—Frolik

Extra line:
Carcillo—Mayers—B. Smith

Henrik Karlsson will back up Corey Crawford.

-------------------------------------------------

Wild vs. Blackhawks
 
Season series: Blackhawks won 2-0-1, outscoring the Wild 8-5.
All-Time series: Wild 27-18-1 (one tie), outscoring the Blackhawks 125-119. Wild has won five of the past 15 meetings, but only once in regulation.
Wild leading scorers vs. Hawks this season: Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi each 1 goal and 1 assist.
Wild leading scorers all-time vs. Hawks: Ryan Suter 4 goals, 26 points in 47 games; Mikko Koivu 4 goals, 22 points in 29 games; Cullen 10 goals, 22 points in 36 games; Setoguchi 6 goals, 14 points in 18 games
Blackhawks leading scorers vs. Wild this season: Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell each 2 goals, 1 assist; Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews each 1 goal and 2 assists.
Blackhawks leading scorers all-time vs. Wild: Hossa 10 goals, 20 points in 22 games; Toews 6 goals, 17 points in 18 games; Duncan Keith 5 goals, 15 points in 29 games; Patrick Kane 6 goals, 14 points in 23 games.
Niklas Backstrom all-time vs. Blackhawks: 5-8-1 with a 2.65 goals against average.
Corey Crawford all-time vs. Wild: 3-1-2 with a 2.01 goals against average.
 
Wild wearing green at home in the playoffs.
 
Games 1, 2, 4 will be on Fox Sports North. NBC Sports Network is supposed to be blacked out. Game 3, Fox Sports North will have a postgame show.
Talk to you Tuesday. Flight to catch.

Wild practice: Pominville absent, Rupp present and a good mood all around

Posted by: Rachel Blount Updated: April 25, 2013 - 3:06 PM

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Rachel Blount here, filling in for Russo at Thursday's Wild practice. Two days after that ginormous victory over LA, the relief still was evident on the ice and in the locker room. Several players were quick to note that the team hasn't locked up anything yet--that could happen as soon as tonight, when a Columbus loss to Dallas in regulation would put the WIld into the playoffs--but the pressure certainly was eased by Tuesday's 2-1 win.

The only downer for the Wild is the injury to Jason Pominville. He didn't practice today after being leveled by a Dustin Brown elbow to his head in Tuesday's game. Coach Mike Yeo said he didn't have an update on Pominville's health, other than to say he is day-to-day. Mike Rupp participated fully in practice, though he isn't certain whether he will be ready to rejoin the lineup Friday against Edmonton at Xcel Energy Center. Rupp said he was encouraged by how he felt Thursday, but he doesn't want to be a liability. He and Yeo will talk after Friday' s morning skate to assess his condition.

Yeo will be watching tonight's Columbus-Dallas game on TV. Zach Parise will not, but he will keep tabs on it. Both of them stressed that the Wild must remained focused on its own business. Even if it gets that playoff berth via a Columbus loss, there is still plenty at stake. Yeo said the Wild must treat Friday's game as a must-win, and Parise said it is important for the Wild to be at its best. 

"We still need to lock up a good seed,'' Parise said. "More importantly, we want to make sure we're playing the right way and we're getting good habits going into the playoffs.You don’t want to just kind of limp in.''

Parise said one key to the LA victory was the pressure the Wild forwards put on the Kings as they were breaking out of their zone. The Kings, he said, often make opponents feel as if they are playing against nine guys at the same time; Tuesday, the Wild applied that same kind of pressure. "Our forwards did a really good job of coming back,'' he said. "That good back pressure lets our D stay up a little more, and we're in their face more. And once we're in their face more, we get the puck back and then go back on the attack. We did that really well against LA, better than I think we've done it all season. I hope we saw how effective it was and that we can keep playing like that.''

Yeo liked the emotional balance he has seen in recent days. On Tuesday, he said, the Wild was sharp and focused without being uptight. He views that as the ideal mindset. "What has impressed me the last couple days with this group is that we've acted like we've been here before,'' he said. "It's important that you're intense and you're ready to play the game. But there has to be a certain degree of looseness and confidence to the way you approach the games, and I felt we had that.''

 

   

Yeo on Wild's situation: 'It's supposed to be hard,' also discusses Dowell, Veilleux decisions

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 22, 2013 - 2:18 PM

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The Wild had an 11 o’clock air-everything-out meeting this morning (more on that below). It was supposed to be followed by an optional skate. Afterward, virtually the entire team took the ice.
 
“They all guilted me into going out,” coach Mike Yeo said, smiling.
 
Good spirits down at the rink today after last night’s 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. With three games left against Los Angeles on Tuesday, Edmonton on Friday and at Colorado on Saturday, the Wild executed a big roster shuffle this morning, reassigning rookies Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker for veteran checkers Jake Dowell and Stephane Veilleux.
 
“When you look at those guys, it’s a bit of different identity to the players,” Yeo said of Dowell and Veilleux. “A little bit harder, and probably the veteran side of it is important this time of year, too, and that had a lot to do with it.”
 
It is clear Zucker and Granlund have struggled. Zucker played five games without a point since his recently callup. After his turnover-laden game in Calgary last week, I heard that the Wild met with him and made it very clear that he can’t play like that again or he’d be returned to Houston on the next flight. Yeo actually alluded to that today, saying, “If something’s not working, you give those guys the opportunity to respond, and if it doesn’t change, then you have to look to doing it a different way.”
 
Granlund just doesn’t look ready to me and his penalty on a power play and wall play yesterday hurt.
 
This quote below by Yeo pretty much provides the Wild’s decision-making process in a nutshell: “It’s not an easy time of year for young kids, and that’s also a real compliment to Charlie [Coyle] and Brods (Jonas Brodin) that they’re still able to go out and play and not play like young kids. But it’s a tough time right now. And the game is tough and we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got everybody in the lineup going out and helping us to get to our game, playing the game the way that we should see it be played.”
 
In other words, Granlund and Zucker were not sticking to the system and the Wild can’t afford it right now.
 
Still, the Wild has scored four goals in an 0-4-1 home stretch. Dowell, 28, and Veilleux, 31, have combined for seven goals and 17 points in 70 games for Houston.
 
I asked Yeo about weighing the need for goals and bringing up to physical, energy guys, and he said, “I think you look at the fact that we’ve given up [16] goals in the last four games, I think. I think that’s a bigger issue. When you get behind like that, it becomes increasingly more difficult to score goals. We’ve proven if we’re playing our game and we’re getting to it and we’re doing the right things that we can score goals. Also, that being said, I think we’re kidding ourselves if we think that we’re this offensive juggernaut. That’s just not who we are. When we’re winning games and when we’re at our best, certainly we score, but we’re a team that’s very difficult to play against, we’re a team that’s good defensively and plays with the right structure, the right details and plays the game with an edge.”
 
As for today’s meeting, it was an opportunity, Yeo said, for players to talk as a group, get “the feelings out” and “see where everybody’s heads at.”
 
The common theme was the Wild has to recognize it’s still in a good spot. I put the math on last night’s blog, but 2-1 should get the Wild in easy.
 
“We can all talk about how we arrived here and the bottom line is, our group has worked very hard – very hard – and sacrificed an awful lot to get us in this position,” Yeo said. “And we should be proud of that. We’ve got a great opportunity. We should be excited about it. One thing we talked about is ‘why should it not be hard for us?’ This is the first year that we’re trying to get there in five years. It’s supposed to be hard for us. That’s part of the battle. But we’ve still got work to do.”
 
Yeo said, “One of the great comments from today from one of our players and I don’t need to say who it was, but it was ‘We can’t sit around and hope for anything. We can’t sit here and hope that a team we’re ahead of loses. We can’t sit around and hope that the outcome is …,’ we just have to take care of what we can take care of. And if we do that, we’ll be fine.”
Last night, the Wild seemed to expend so much energy early that it was depleted late. Yeo said, “It is absolutely normal that guys are going to be nervous, that you’re going to have those butterflies before the game. This is not unique to us. I know that every team that’s fighting for position and every team that’s fighting to get in, they’re all feeling the same things. It’s a matter of dealing with them and still being able to go out and focus and execute the right way.”
 
It was also very clear last night that Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter tried to will this team to victory. The effort level by those three was clear as day to see. It is now up to others to follow suit. Some guys have had very tough years and the Wild needs them now.
 
“Those guys had, what, 21 shots in the game between those three guys,” Yeo said. “That’s a great thing when your leaders are going out and doing that. The rest of the group definitely has to keep up and recognize how they’re doing it -- they’re doing it the right way. The shifts in the offensive zone and that shooters mentality, but playing the game the right way with the right structure and defending hard and defending the right way as well. They’re just going out and just playing the game and that’s what we need. That’s what leaders do right now and we need everyone to do it.”
 
Mike Rupp skated at the start of practice today but not late, so he’s obviously out vs. the Kings. Zenon Konopka practiced on his broken foot, but he’ll need more sessions.
 
Niklas Backstrom will start vs. Los Angeles.
 
Josh Harding was back from his two-game conditioning stint and looked real good. He got the 33-for-36 victory in Friday’s win at Austin to help the Aeros clinch a playoff spot. He then played a planned two periods last night in a loss.
 
He’s now back up here, activated off injured reserve and say he is ready to play when needed.
 
“We think we got [the multiple sclerosis] under control here,” Harding said. “I went and played and I felt good and nothing bothered me. The circumstances [in the AHL] aren’t like the NHL. It’s hot and humid down there, you’re bussing, the travel schedule is difficult, your routines are different. And if I can play there under those circumstances, I know I could play here.
 
“… I have a responsibility as a teammate and for this team to get myself ready in case I get in there, even in practice to make the guys better by trying as hard as I can. That’s my responsibility right now. I owe it to the team to do that.”
 
Speaking of the Aeros, their five-game series against Grand Rapids begins Friday in Houston.
 
In Des Moines today, Wild owner Craig Leipold, COO Matt Majka, GM Chuck Fletcher and assistant to the GM Jim Mill unveiled the Iowa Wild’s new logo and uniforms. They can be seen on www.iowawild.com. By the way, as I’ve written many times, the Wild plans new road whites next year. I am told those Iowa whites are not them.
 

Wild looks forward to a big week

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 20, 2013 - 2:43 PM

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The Wild had a focused, energetic practice this morning in Mendota Heights and looked focused for a huge week.
 
With four games left in the regular season, the Wild’s still in a good spot to end its four-year postseason drought. That starts Sunday at 5 p.m. when the Wild opens a three-game homestand against Calgary. Los Angeles and Edmonton comes in next before the Wild ends the regular season in Denver on Saturday.
 
The NHL playoffs open next Tuesday.
 
“We’re in a spot where we know we have to play well and if we do, we’re going to get rewarded and be going in on a high,” said Zach Parise. “Throw out the San Jose game and if we play like we did in Edmonton and Calgary, we’ll be OK. It’s an exciting spot to be in for us.”
 
One area where I think the Wild can improve upon is physically. Things ramp up in the playoffs.
 
“You know me. I like physical hockey,” coach Mike Yeo said. “I like going in straight lines and finishing checks. This time of year that should be everybody. We’re coming home and we should be playing a hard game [Sunday] and we expect everybody to do that.”
 
Besides making the playoffs, this week should be about continuing to build its game for Minnesota.
 
“We’ve got to show up,” Devin Setoguchi said. “We have to show up every day and play the right way. If you get into the playoffs and you’re not quite there yet, then you don’t know what your game is. We need to build our game more and more and more so when the playoffs come, you’re ready to go.”
 
Check out Sunday’s newspaper for a heckuva lot more, including the Russo’s Rants/Facebook (www.facebook.com/startribunemikerusso) Q&A.
 
Couple odds and ends:
 
--Got a couple tweets asking if there’s a chance we see Mikael vs. Markus Granlund on Sunday because the Flames signed the younger Granlund bro on Friday. Markus Granlund is still playing in Finland.
 
--Mike Rupp didn’t practice today. He did skate before and is questionable to play vs. the Flames. Zenon Konopka didn’t practice.
 
--Charlie Coyle, who had his upper front teeth chipped by Flames defenseman Mark Giordano last Monday, is in a dentist’s chair right now. Root canal, maybe. Ugh.
 
--Josh Harding is expected to make his second conditioning start Sunday at Oklahoma City. He made 33 saves in Houston’s 4-3 win at Texas on Friday night to help the Aeros clinch a playoff spot. After Sunday’s Aeros game, Harding is expected to be recalled and Darcy Kuemper will likely return to Houston for the Calder Cup playoffs. Just conjecture, but I’m betting Harding gets a start this week, especially if the Wild clinches. That could be Saturday at Colorado?
 
--Matt Dumba made his pro debut last night. He looked tough, kept up with the faster pace and you know he impressed coach John Torchetti by scrapping after a teammate was hit with a cheap shot.
 
Rachel Blount is covering Sunday’s game, so she’ll blog after the morning meeting (no skate with the early game). I will be at the game, will tweet throughout and likely blog afterward.

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