The Minnesota Wild will face a challenging task when they visit Winnipeg on Saturday evening to take on the Central Division-leading Jets.
While Winnipeg will be well-rested and awaiting the Wild after two days off, Minnesota will be coming off a game on Friday, arriving late in Winnipeg from Minnesota following a 2-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club.
With just three points separating the Jets and Wild in the standings and Minnesota holding a game in hand, the stakes will be high — especially with the Wild losing three in a row and four of their last five.
“You’ve got to get ready for the next one,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “That’s the life that we live. That’s the life of a competitor.”
The Wild are in the midst of a tough run against Winnipeg, unable to win over their last seven meetings, but Minnesota forward Mats Zuccarello said he isn’t too concerned.
“If we were really bad and didn’t compete, I would be standing here saying, ‘We (stink), we have to play better,’ but we’ve been playing hard,” Zuccarello said. “But at the end of the day, if we’re not getting wins, it’s not good enough, so we just have to come back to finding ways to win instead of losing.”
The Jets weren’t entirely satisfied with their performance after splitting a two-game road trip through California this past week. They posted a 4-3 win in San Jose on Tuesday before absorbing a 3-2 setback in Anaheim on Wednesday.
Although San Jose and Anaheim are far from playoff contention in the Western Conference, each team played hard and provided the NHL’s top-ranked team with a tough challenge.
“When you have a hot start like we had, a historic start, we’re not sneaking up on anybody,” Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo said when asked about teams gunning for them after their groundbreaking 15-1-0 start to the season. “You know we’re getting everyone’s best games, so there is a challenge in that, and there is some pride in that. … We want everybody’s best, because that makes us be at our best. It’s a different role when you’re the hunted instead of hunting.”
The Wild certainly are targeting Winnipeg, aiming to eventually take the top spot in the Central Division, but does that mean it’s all or nothing for the Jets? Head coach Scott Arniel said he trusts his players don’t view it that way.
“I hope our emotion level doesn’t go up for Minnesota and then goes down for the next opponent,” Arniel said after Friday morning’s practice. “With Minnesota … we’ve had some physical contests with them over the last couple of years. I don’t put any more emphasis (on this game) over Dallas, Colorado, Utah. … This is a divisional game and they’re sitting right behind us and we want to grow that gap.”
Jets defenseman Logan Stanley is out because of an injury he suffered while blocking a shot against Anaheim.
For Minnesota, Jesper Wallstedt will start in net on Saturday, replacing an injured Filip Gustavsson. Joel Eriksson Ek is back skating but is still day-to-day.
–Field Level Media
