A potential first-round playoff preview will be on display Monday night at Xcel Energy Center when the Wild host the Kraken.
The Wild currently sit atop the Central Division with 93 points, one ahead of Dallas and Colorado, while Seattle is in the Western Conference's first wild card seat. If the standings stayed this way the rest of the regular season, these two teams would face off in Round 1. Each side has won once this season, with the Kraken blanking the Wild 4-0 on Nov. 3 in St. Paul before the Wild shut out Seattle 1-0 on Nov. 11 at Climate Pledge Arena.
"Such a great turnaround for their hockey club," coach Dean Evason said of the Kraken, who already have 28 more points than they did from their inaugural season as an expansion team. "They're a real good hockey club that has all kinds of elements, and the one thing that we've talked about is all four lines can score on their team.
"They play hard and gritty. It's a great challenge for us."
Marc-Andre Fleury, who recorded that 28-save shutout vs. Seattle, will be in net for the Wild.
In front of him, the Wild will make one change to their blue line: Jon Merrill will sub in for Calen Addison.
John Klingberg remains out with an upper-body injury. Klingberg skated Monday morning and will accompany the team on its upcoming road trip that starts Wednesday against the Avalanche. The defenseman hasn't played since last Tuesday at New Jersey.
Projected lineup:
