Freddy Gaudreau will get an opportunity to play in the top six tonight.
ST. PAUL - Wild head coach John Hynes has tried different centers on the second line, tonight he will try Freddy Gaudreau in hopes to get him going.
Ryan Hartman has played in that spot for the last couple of games, Marco Rossi was there before him and Joel Eriksson Ek has played on the second line before Hynes constructed the first line which is one of the best in the league recently.
But Hynes knows he can't just have one line that will put the puck in the net. There needs to be a couple of scoring lines to really be a threat down the road. Hartman and Gaudreau haven't put up the points recently that we saw a year prior so Hynes has been trying to get the two of them going.
Tonight Hartman will play with Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime and Gaudreau will get a chance at center again, this time with Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello.
Gaudreau, 30, hasn't played center in 18 games but will get a chance to do that tonight. The 6-foot forward has only one assist in his last 13 games and has not scored in his last 21 games. He's got one goal and six points in his last 26 games.
"We haven't played Freddy in the middle in 18 games," Hynes said on the switch. "He's played pretty well in the last couple of games and he does play well at center. He hasn't played much with Zuccarello and Johansson so it's a different look. It's a different position and different players he's playing with."
We will see if this switch can spark Gaudreau.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.