DENVER – The break is over, and the Wild is back to business.
After a three-day layoff for the holidays, the team resumes its season Friday with a Central Division matchup against the Avalanche at Pepsi Center.
"I think we had such a good run there and [now] kind of bouncing back and forth a little bit in between, we want to get back and put a little streak together here," goalie Devan Dubnyk said. "We've gotten close, but we obviously want to get into that playoff spot. This is a good opportunity. We got a couple real good challenges coming up. I think it can kind of catapult us a little bit going forward if we can get sone wins here in the next three, four games."
Before pausing, the Wild extinguished the Flames 3-0 at home – a performance that included a 22-save shutout for Dubnyk, his first of the season. The team will use the same lineup Friday after recalling center Nico Sturm from the American Hockey League.
Dubnyk also faced Colorado in the second game of the season, making 28 saves in a 4-2 loss.
"You gotta skate," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Skating and checking will create opportunities to score. When we played them and we won 3-2 in our building [on Nov.21], that's all we did was check, check, check and it created opportunities for us. I don't know if there's a secret to beating them, but that's the secret for us to be successful."
Projected lineup:
Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Mats Zuccarello
