The Wild will wrap up its regular season series with the Avalanche on Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center with a more veteran lineup.
Zach Parise is returning after going into the NHL's COVID protocols on March 24 and ultimately sitting out seven games, and Mats Zuccarello is also back after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury.
"I'm excited to play again," Parise said. "I've said it before, it's never overly enjoyable to sit and watch your team play and watch your teammates and not be able to travel with them. I'm looking forward to playing again."
Nick Bjugstad will not suit up for the Wild. He's out with an upper-body injury after leaving Monday's 5-4 loss to Colorado in the third period following a fight with Kyle Burroughs.
That third period was when the Wild was at its best Monday vs. the Avalanche, its comeback barely falling short.
Bringing that intensity from the drop of the puck will be the team's focus in the rematch.
"We didn't play our game," coach Dean Evason said. "Yes, we were up 1-0, but they still had a lot of the play. We didn't get pucks into their zone and play our game. We weren't finishing our checks as much as we normally do. We were off a little bit. It kind of rolled into the second period. We got set back on our heels after [Nathan] MacKinnon's goal … and then we just kind of had a little lull there and they pounced on us and scored another quickly and we were set back onto our heels and we never got back on our toes until late in the third period.
So, it has to be right from the start."
