The Wild, minus goalie Darcy Kuemper, boarded a charter this morning for Edmonton, Alberta.
As was indicated last week, the Wild still went through with a two-week conditioning stint for Kuemper to Iowa after the All-Star break. As he said after the game in Detroit, Kuemper was open to it, although after seeing him save the day there for at least a point by stopping 14 of 14 shots prior to the shootout in relief of Devan Dubnyk, I wondered if the Wild would change its mind and not mess with the goaltending right now.
But since the plan is likely to start Dubnyk all three games on this road trip and the fact the Wild only has six games in the next 14 days and won't play back-to-back next until Feb. 9-10, the Wild's willing to send him to Iowa for a little bit to get some games.
"Playing time, practice time before he gets the playing time," coach Mike Yeo said is his goal for Kuemper. "But more than anything else, just to mentally get himself back on track. I actually thought he played well in the Detroit game, but he needs to get more of a base underneath him. Just as far as the way things had gone, we were able to get him in a game here and there and once in a while it was a good game, once in a while it was a bad game. I'm just hoping for him to get a real good foundation coming back here as far as the confidence level, and obviously the playing time will be huge for him."
Center Mikael Granlund will return Tuesday night when the Wild opens its western Canadian swing in Edmonton.
He underwent wrist surgery on Dec. 29 and the Wild went 4-7-2 without him. He'll skate on a line with Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek. Mikko Koivu will center Jason Zucker and Jason Pominville. Kyle Brodziak will center Matt Cooke and Justin Fontaine, and Charlie Coyle will center a line with Ryan Carter and Nino Niederreiter. Erik Haula isn't slated to play, nor is extra Stu Bickel, who was called up from Iowa to add an extra body for the trip.
Parise, named the NHL's Third Star of the Week today for scoring three goals in two games, is excited to get Granlund back.
"You need depth at center. That's the only way you win in this league. You need deep centermen," said Parise, who's riding a four-game goal streak. "Everyone knows how good a player he is and how well he's played, so for him to hop right back in and make a difference in our top-6, and power play as well, we're ready and excited to get him back."