Entering final preseason game, Wild's roster seems set

The Wild saved their best for last.

For the first time and in their preseason finale, the Wild are planning to have all available NHLers suit up on Saturday against Dallas at Xcel Energy Center. The walk-through is indicative of how the team has jelled two-plus weeks into training camp ahead of the season and home opener Thursday vs. the New York Rangers.

"It'll be exciting to play [Saturday] as a full group and be more of what you're gonna see come regular season," winger Marcus Foligno said.

Most of the lineup shouldn't come as a surprise.

Starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who re-signed in the offseason, is scheduled to handle the whole game, and in front of him will be the same six defensemen who were projected to headline the depth chart. The only changes are the combinations.

After experimenting with captain Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin as a pairing, the Wild now have Alex Goligoski alongside Spurgeon (a duo that started last season together).

That leaves Brodin to reunite with longtime partner Matt Dumba, and Jake Middleton has joined rookie Calen Addison on the third unit. Jon Merrill (injured) and Andrej Sustr are the extras; Dakota Mermis is also still on the camp roster, but he's hurt.

Although the Wild would love a Spurgeon-Brodin tandem, they figure it'll be a tough matchup to deploy on the road when the home team has last line change and can shield its top players from the Wild's best defenders.

Still, the Wild have flexibility; Spurgeon and Brodin could also work together in specific situations, perhaps even during home contests.

Up front, the Wild are sticking with the lines that debuted in their first practices.

Ryan Hartman is once again centering Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, and new arrival Sam Steel has teamed up with Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy. Tyson Jost is taking Jordan Greenway's spot next to Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno while Greenway heals up from offseason surgery, and prized prospect Marco Rossi, Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime are the other trio. Nic Petan and Mason Shaw fill out the forward group.

Through the first six exhibition games, Rossi leads the Wild in scoring with eight points (two goals and six assists) in five appearances.

Two of those came Thursday in a 4-1 victory over Chicago while Rossi was on the same line as Kaprizov and Zuccarello, an opportunity coach Dean Evason said Rossi deserved.

"So far, it's good," Rossi said of his camp audition. "I'm happy but always keep going."

Jost's three goals are a team-high, but Saturday will be his first chance to skate with Eriksson Ek and Foligno in live action.

"We joked around we haven't played with each other yet but maybe our practices are so good, they don't want to see us in a game yet," Foligno said.

Another top producer in the preseason has been Steel, with two goals and three assists in his four tune-ups.

"I'm just trying to take it day by day and learn the systems, try and get to know the guys and leave an impression," said Steel, who signed as a free agent after Anaheim didn't hold onto his rights. "So, I think it's just gone pretty good so far but a long ways to go."

Technically with Merrill and Greenway not ready for the start of the season and Mermis injured, the Wild don't need to make any more cuts to get to the 23-man roster limit.

Evason said the Wild probably wouldn't keep everybody, but the group as-is sure shows plenty of lineup possibilities the Wild could rely on throughout the season.

"We have a lot of people including if we do send somebody down from here that we feel can give us quality, quality minutes," Evason said, "not just play on our fourth line but give us an opportunity to continue to have success."