Nik Backstrom, Wild have formidable task tonight in shutting down Nick Bjugstad and the Panthers

Like my brain, this may be a mishmash of unorganized thoughts.

I picked up so many little notes this morning, you may be seeing things scattered in the paper throughout the coming week that was gathered today, including a column on former Wild defenseman and two-time Cup champ Willie Mitchell, who is Florida's captain and is motivated to help this franchise turn around. He talked a lot today about the team on and off the ice and also a lot about the Panthers' young talents, like Nick Bjugstad.

Speaking of Bjugstad, if you didn't read my piece on Bjugstad vs. Erik Haula tonight, here is that feature. He enters tonight on a four-game point streak (five goals, three assists), including the overtime-forcing goal with 30.3 seconds left of an eventual shootout loss two days ago in Nashville.

As you know if you watched him in high school and college, he is a physical force, one that can skate and shoot the puck ridiculously hard, and things seem to be coming together now for him as an NHLer. Mitchell said he has watched Bjugstad grow up before his very eyes just in the past week.

As Haula said in today's paper, he is such a good kid, too. I still remember his draft year, I was making arrangement via text to sit down with Bjugstad in Dinkytown for a pre-draft feature. I suddenly had a few Wild responsibilities come up on this June afternoon, and had to text Bjugstad two or three times to change locations and then times and he did everything to accommodate me even though I was inconveniencing him.

We were also joking around this morning about this one time I ran into him at this gas station near campus because he was filling up his scooter. He caught me at the very worst moment – incensed because my car got stuck in the car wash with me in it and unable to get anybody from the gas station to pick up the phone and come out to turn the thing off. It was literally straight out of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.

I'll be on Fox Sports North during tonight's pregame show and first intermission, and I'm sure Bjugstad's recent play will come up.

Niklas Backstrom vs. Roberto Luongo tonight.

Backstrom is 5-0-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .941 save percentage all-time vs. Florida, and he's 3-0 at Florida, so that's part of the rationale. Also, because of Backstrom's poor record at Dallas and the fact Darcy Kuemper won there a few weekends ago, I'd guess Kuemper starts in Dallas on Friday and Backstrom at home against St. Louis on Saturday. I'd think they'd want to get Backstrom a start before that important division matchup.

Last we saw Backstrom, he had a sensational first two periods against Winnipeg before the wheels fell off in the third. A 3-0 lead evaporated in five minutes and he was yanked for Kuemper, who came on and got the win by stopping three of three shots before Marco Scandella's OT winner.

"He's part of our team and we've got to make sure we're keeping him going, making sure we're giving him an opportunity that he can go out and prove that he can win hockey games," coach Mike Yeo said. "That's what he's done in the past and we expect him to do it again."

Still, this wasn't an easy decision, I'm told. The coaching staff really deliberated this yesterday just because Kuemper was so good in Philly and played well against Tampa Bay.

By the way (I told you this would be a mishmash of thoughts), just an fyi, I won't be around the team Tuesday-Thursday, so Rachel Blount is picking up the team the next few days (although the team likely won't practice either Tuesday or Thursday), so next you'll hear from me after tonight is when I pick up the team in Dallas on Thanksgiving night Thursday.

Interesting game tonight. Usually I have a good feel for what to expect, but not tonight. Florida is coming off a 2-1-1 road trip and we know the first game after a long trip is typically hairy. But I wonder if that's offset by the Wild's day off yesterday (other than a workout at hotel) and the fact the team pretty much unwound by spending time down by the beach with their dads/mentors watching football. Can they just turn the switch back? OF course, THAT may be upset by the fact the Wild wants to win this road trip -- so to speak -- after splitting the first two in Philly and Tampa. Plus, the Wild has a tough stretch coming up with home L.A. Wednesday after a long flight back to Minnesota tonight, road Dallas Friday a day after Turkey Day and home St. Louis Saturday. So it knows it needs to win this one.

What else? I talked to Charlie Coyle and Jonathan Huberdeau a lot about their time together winning a Quebec League championship as linemates with Saint John. Panthers coach Gerard Gallant was their coach, and I'll try to squeeze that stuff into tomorrow's paper. If not, I'll get it in at some point.

Yeo talked to me a lot about Coyle today, and I plan to do a feature in the next few days about his play this season and what the expectations are. He has all the tools, but what will he be? What can he be? Does he need a little more, Rick Tocchet, David Backes SOB in him? How can he bring that more consistently?

Stuff like that. He certainly needs to shoot the puck more and knows it.

Jonas Brodin (mumps) is working out back in Minnesota and a little birdie told me he's expected to start skating tomorrow.

Same birdie told me Matt Cooke will start skating in Minnesota tomorrow, too. He has been working out heavily this trip and looked like a coach in a warmup suit during the father-son picture the other day in Tampa.

Cooke hasn't played since Oct. 28. Tonight will be his 12^th consecutive game out with a hip flexor.

"This has gone on longer than I think we all would have anticipated," Yeo said. "We can feel the loss of him in our lineup, just as far as his board work, his controlling pucks in the offensive zone, his penalty killing, his physicality and his speed. We've definitely felt his absence."

I think I mentioned the other day, Cooke leads the league in points per 60 minutes and that fourth line was a factor every night offensively with Cooke on it. Heck, his last game in Boston, it was his line that tied the score after Zach Parise sparked a third-period comeback for a win.

I have some real good father-son anecdotes involving Nate Prosser, Matt Dumba, Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula that I'll try to squeeze in tomorrow's paper.