Inconsistency and injury headlined the first half of the Wild's season, a chapter that will end Thursday when it hosts the Sabres for Game No.41 with the team at full health for the first time.
"Most teams haven't had a full lineup for long periods of times," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "So we're no special team, and this is what hockey is. You go through injuries, and you're supposed to overcome them. We've done an OK job but not as good as we'd like. But we're fresh now. Let's see what we can do."
Winger Nino Niederreiter will be back in the lineup after missing five games with a left ankle injury. It's the second straight game the Wild has had a key player make a return, as winger Zach Parise made his season debut Tuesday in the 5-1 win over the Panthers.
"It's exciting," Boudreau said of having a complete roster. "But sometimes you look at that and you tread lightly because sometimes you get your full lineup [and] everyone thinks, 'OK, that guy's going to do it,' and you don't play anywhere near as well as when you're shorthanded.
"It's something we're guarding against hopefully and we'll be ready to go."
Success on home ice has also been a trend through the first 40 games, as the Wild is 13-4-2 at Xcel Energy Center while outscoring opponents 54-39.
"I know we always like playing in this building," goalie Devan Dubnyk said. "The atmosphere is great. We've always been a good home team. That's important. We talk about that every single year at the start of the year that we have to be a dominant team at home, and we've been able to do that. For us now it's just being able to take that game on the road."
Projected lineup:
