Despite his team's 2-0 start, Wild coach Mike Yeo is not standing pat. He plans to tinker with his lineups when the team resumes play this weekend, believing its long-term interests are best served by getting ice time for all 23 players on the roster.

The afterglow of last week's season-opening shutouts of Colorado still reverberated Monday during a high-spirited practice at Xcel Energy Center. Yet Yeo, who seemed a little uncomfortable with the praise being heaped on his team, was eager to move on. The Wild is in the midst of a five-day break before playing at Anaheim on Friday and at Los Angeles on Sunday, and its quirky schedule includes only four games during the first 14 days of the season.

Defensemen Keith Ballard and Nate Prosser were scratched for the first two games, while forward Justin Fontaine was on injured reserve and goaltender Niklas Backstrom stayed on the bench. As tempting as it might be to stick with the same group that demolished the Avalanche, Yeo said those who haven't played must soon get a chance to show what they can do.

"I'm not afraid to make changes," Yeo said. "This is a weekend where we have to see guys get in. I don't want guys on our roster sitting around for three weeks without playing a game.

"This is a long season. We're going to need a lot of guys, and we have to make sure everyone is a part of it. We've got to keep trying to work to get better. Whoever is in the lineup and wherever they're playing, they have to be ready to go."

Fontaine healthy

The Wild placed forward/defenseman Stu Bickel on waivers Monday, creating room for Fontaine to rejoin the roster for the trip to California. Fontaine said he has fully recovered from a strained gluteus muscle.

Goalie Darcy Kuemper was named NHL’s second star of the week.

Yeo said there is a "really good chance" Fontaine will play this weekend, though he added that he isn't sure what role the winger will play. As much as he appreciates Fontaine's solid defense and reliability, Yeo said, he also wants to see him produce more than the 13 goals and eight assists he contributed last season.

Fontaine said he is ready to do whatever is asked of him. "I feel 100 percent now," he said. "I'm just going to work every day in practice, and wherever I get put in, that's the role I'll play."

Still perfect

Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper was named the NHL's second star of the week Monday after stopping 46 shots in the two shutout victories over Colorado. Montreal center Tomas Plekanec earned the first star for scoring four goals as the Canadiens got out to a 3-0 start, while Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby was named third star after contributing three goals and three assists in a pair of victories.

"It's exciting to get mentioned like that, but I was fortunate our team played so well," Kuemper said. "The guys in front of me are making it pretty easy for me. They're playing solid defense, making it easy to make the reads, and I'm just trying to make the saves I have to. They're not allowing any second opportunities."

Etc.

• With five days between games, the Wild is throttling down a bit before getting back into competition mode. Monday's practice included a three-on-three scrimmage on a shortened rink at center ice, which enabled players to work on skills in a lighthearted, pond-hockey environment. The team will practice at home Tuesday before leaving for California.

• Ballard said the Wild seems to have a clearer sense of itself this season, which he believes has contributed to its fast start.

"We started this year with the expectation that we are a good team," he said. "There wasn't that feeling of, 'What are we going to be? What's our identity?' We know what kind of team we are, and we know how to be successful.''