WILD PREVIEW
vs. Anaheim Ducks, Xcel Energy Center, 7 p.m. today
TV; radio: BSN; 100.3 FM
Stats and analytics: Tap here.
Morning skate update: Wild first-line C Joel Eriksson Ek is sidelined day-to-day, opening the door for C Marat Khusnutdinov to make his NHL debut. The rookie from Russia finished his KHL season and arrived in Minnesota last week. He’ll be on the second power-play unit and will likely center a line with Marcus Foligno and Freddy Gaudreau.
Pregame reading: ’Flower’ is blooming for the Wild in the stretch run.
Sarah McLellan’s analysis:
Opening bell: The Wild were oh-so-close to moving within four points of a playoff spot. After they dismissed Arizona 4-1 on Tuesday night, Vegas needed a last-minute goal and then overtime to rally past Seattle and reinstate the Golden Knights’ six-point lead for the final wild-card seed in the Western Conference. Eventually, these two teams will meet head-to-head. But in the meantime, the Wild (32-27-7) will have another chance to gain ground Thursday: they host Anaheim (23-39-3) while Vegas takes on Calgary.
Watch him: Wild RW Ryan Hartman has goals in back-to-back games after not capitalizing in 19 straight and is only three goals shy of his second 20-goal season. But even before he shed that streak last Sunday vs. Nashville, Hartman had been a factor for the Wild. From Feb. 12-29, Hartman racked up eight assists in nine games, and his line with LW Mats Zuccarello and C Marco Rossi has bolstered the Wild’s scoring depth. “He’s harder on the puck, and I think he’s making strong puck decisions,” coach John Hynes said of Hartman. “Because he’s skating and he’s making better decisions with the puck, I think he and his line are in more offensive situations and then he’s in scoring areas and he’s got a shot-first mentality. So, it’s good to see.”
