CALGARY, Alberta – After a three-day break in the schedule, the Wild is back in action Thursday against the team it last faced before this mini-hiatus – visiting the Flames in Calgary to wrap up the three-game season series.
The Wild won the first meeting, 3-0, and the Flames took Round 2 in a shootout 5-4 last Sunday.
"Good practices are always advantageous, especially when you haven't had a chance to practice for a while," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Usually, a lot of times … you start losing because you haven't practiced in a while and you have to get back to the basics and I thought we did that – especially the second practice. And hopefully it works out in our favor today."
Goalie Alex Stalock is scheduled to start, meaning the Wild is expected to roll out the same lineup that it did Sunday when it last played.
While the Wild was idle, the gap between it and a playoff spot widened.
Calgary is sitting in the second wild card spot with five more points than the Wild. The Canucks, whom the Wild will play next on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center, is also ahead of the Wild by four points.
"Every time you take three days off, teams are gaining on you – not only gaining on you or going way past you," Boudreau said. "It's tough to do it but we know every team's gotta do it. That's the thing you keep thinking about, 'OK, they're going to get their break.' And you gotta make hay when the sun shines. When it's your opportunity, you gotta take advantage of it."
Projected lineup:
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