SUNRISE, Fla. – This has already been a fruitful road trip for the Wild, as it's gone 1-0-1, but the team has a chance to make it even better Friday when it wraps up the trek against the Panthers.
The night before, the Wild had arguably its best performance of the season – blanking the NHL-leading Lightning 3-0 at Amalie Arena. Winger Jason Zucker recorded his second career natural hat trick, while goalie Devan Dubnyk secured his second career shutout after making 25 saves.
"We had some tremendous energy," coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Look for Dubnyk to be back in net, and he's been steady in his career against the Panthers – going 9-1 with a .948 save percentage and 1.38 goals-against average in 10 games.
In his last seven starts, Dubnyk is 6-0-1 with a .943 save percentage and 1.69 goals-against average.
But the rest of the Wild's lineup could change. That's because winger Luke Kunin suffered an upper-body injury Thursday after absorbing an open-ice hit from center Cedric Paquette. Kunin struggled to get up and skate to the bench; Boudreau expected to learn more on Kunin's status after the game.
The Wild did not host a morning skate Friday.
Winger Matt Read has been with the team recently on an emergency basis, and he could be ushered into action. Read had a goal Saturday in the 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
