The Wild hosts the St. Louis Blues tonight. Barring another injury, with Josh Harding suspended, Ilya Bryzgalov likely soon off the roster and Justin Fontaine starting on IR, the Wild technically have to make one more cut.
Afternoon from Xcel Energy Center, where I'm pulling an all-dayer before tonight's Wild-St. Louis Blues preseason finale.
The game can be heard on KFAN and on the @russostrib Twitter Network. THERE IS NO TV!!!
Tonight's lines for Minnesota:
Parise-Granlund-Pominville
Vanek-Koivu-Cooke
Zucker-Coyle-Niederreiter
Brodziak-Haula-Bickel
Suter-Brodin
Scandella-Spurgeon
Ballard-Folin
Kuemper (full 60)
Bryzgalov
Matt Dumba, Nate Prosser, Cody Almond and Stephane Veilleux are scratched.
Remember, barring another injury, with Josh Harding suspended, Ilya Bryzgalov likely soon off the roster and Justin Fontaine starting on IR, the Wild technically have to make one more cut.
Depends if it wants to start the season with 22 players or 23.
Folin gets tonight's game. Dumba does not.
Is that an indication that Dumba is on the outside looking in?
Cue Mike Yeo: "Nothing to read into it. I've been very happy with Dums' camp. I didn't feel this was a game that would change my opinion of what I've seen from him."
Yeo said it's more that he wants to see the Ballard-Folin pair again. They have played a good bit together, and personally, I think that'll be the third pairing in Thursday's opener if Dumba starts the season in the press box or in Iowa.
Yeo again said that tonight's lineup is not final and whatever the opening night roster is not final. "I don't know how many times I've ever been around where the lineup you see in day one is the same you see on game 27 and so on."
Couple interesting notes with tonight's lineup:
-- Bickel is playing fourth-line right wing with Brodziak on the left and Haula on the right. I think at this point it's very clear Bickel's going to stick.
Said Yeo, "He brings an element that we're really lacking, to be honest with you. We've got skill in the lineup and we do have some size, but we don't have a bunch of guys that bring the physical presence that he brings. He's only played the one game on wing, so we'd like to see how he does out there tonight."
Ryan Reaves, who is playing tonight, was running around like a madman in St. Louis on Thursday, and I think it made the Wild realize how important it is to have a heavy – so to speak – in the lineup against the physical teams like St. Louis.
"You never want to – so to speak – be caught with your pants down," Yeo said. "We've got some tough teams in our conference, so it's not our game and we have to make sure we're not caught up in other people's games, but at the same time you've got to make sure that you're protecting your guys, too. That's an element that he's shown that he's willing to bring and that's an element that I know that our players very much respect."
The former Gopher and Chanhassen native has gotten into three preseason scraps.
Coyle will play center for the second game in a row tonight and for the second game in a row on a line with Zucker and Niederreiter.
Like Bickel, I think Zucker sticks. Yeo likes the Zucker-Coyle chemistry, and thought process with putting Niederreiter there is last year Zucker and Coyle had some good games on a line with a big body and shooter in Dany Heatley.
Yeo admitted the Wild's very "curious" to see Coyle at center again and it's "definitely" something the Wild may do to start the season.
On Cooke playing with Vanek and Koivu, Yeo said he likes the speed that Cooke has brought to the line the past few practices. Yeo likes that he gets in on the forecheck, hounds the puck, will be a straight-line player who will drive hard and will get the puck to Koivu and Vanek.
We'll see if it works. Coyle with Koivu and Vanek certainly didn't show a lot.
Brett Sutter and Curt Gogol cleared waivers and were assigned to Iowa.
NOOOOO is the answer to all your Nick Leddy tweets. As I have written and said on the radio since last season, Leddy was bound to be traded with the Blackhawks' cap situation. I never meant to Minnesota. The Wild is not interested for many reasons. One big one: It has a gazillion young guys it needs to re-sign in the next year or so that will get big money, and Leddy is two years from unrestricted free agency and is already making more than $3 million.
It's just not in the cards. He'll be dealt soon though.
Couple Wild releases:
MINNESOTA WILD TO HOLD WAKE-UP RALLY ON
KELLOGG AVENUE ON THURSDAY, OCT. 9
TEAM ALSO ANNOUNCES PRE-GAME PARTY OUTSIDE GATE 2 BEGINNING AT 5 P.M.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild will hold a Wake-Up Rally on Thursday, Oct. 9, from 6-9 a.m. on Kellogg Blvd. in front of Saint Paul RiverCentre. The Wake-Up Rally is available to those traveling westbound on Kellogg Blvd. The Wild also announced that there will be a Pre-Game Party outside Gate 2 of Xcel Energy Center from 5-7:15 p.m. The Wild hosts the Colorado Avalanche in the season opener at 7:30 p.m.
At the Wake-Up Rally, fans on foot or traveling in cars will be treated to a cup of SuperMom's Coffee courtesy of SuperAmerica, Super Mom's sugar hockey puck cookies courtesy of Super America, Coca-Cola products, "Home of the Home Ice Advantage" rally towel, a Wild pocket schedule and copies of the newspapers.
The Pre-Game Party includes music, food and beverage, Happy Hour prices, interactive games and more, including the Hockey Lodge Mobile Store.
MINNESOTA WILD TO HOST VIEWING PARTY AT XCEL ENERGY CENTER
FOR OCT. 11 GAME AGAINST COLORADO
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild will host a viewing party at Xcel Energy Center for the team's game in Colorado against the Avalanche on Saturday, Oct. 11. Gates open at 7:30 p.m., with puck drop in Denver at 8 p.m. The event is free, and open to the public.
Fans can watch the FOX Sports North broadcast on Xcel Energy Center's new HD video board, six times the size of the old scoreboard. The first 500 fans in attendance will also receive a "Home of the Home Ice Advantage" rally towel. Concessions will be available for purchase.
On “Bark at the Park” night, the Twins’ Carson McCusker might have set a record for the farthest distance traveled by a bat slipping out of a hitter’s hands.
