ST. PAUL - The Wild are set to host the Dallas Stars for their final preseason game before the regular season opens on Tuesday the 10th. Here are some keys to the game for the Wild.
1.) Tighten up defensively
Without Jared Spurgeon out on the ice for more than 20 minutes a game with power play time and top penalty kill minutes, the Wild need to really tighten up defensively in order to keep pucks out of the net.
The Wild will be playing three defensemen tonight, and to start the season, that played a combined two playoff games last year with all three of them experiencing times as a healthy scratch throughout the season.
Jon Merrill was the only defender who played in the playoffs last year with Calen Addison and Alex Goligoski sitting out. Goligoski, 38, will replace Spurgeon's ice time and is set to play with Jake Middleton as the top d-pair.
2.) Set the tone early
It's the last preseason game of the year and the last game-type action until the 12th when the Wild host the Flordia Panthers. So setting the tone early and establishing how you want to play the game will only benefit the Wild.
Getting to their game quickly will help the Wild enter the season with confidence. We saw last year how slow the Wild started and how hard it is to start the season with a losing record and claw all the way back in the standings.
This year the central division got a lot better, so the Wild can't afford another slow start. It all starts tonight, if the Wild can set the tone and get to their game quickly, they will be in good shape.