The Wild are set to start a three-game road trip tonight in what could be the most important trip of the season. These three games could tell us a lot about this Wild team.
After going 1-1-1 on their recent three-game homestand the Wild are set to square off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight to kick off a three-game road trip that includes three playoff teams.
The Wild are currently eight points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference so these next three games are crucial to try and squeeze out as many points as possible. But it also is a challenging one. All three teams the Wild face on the road are currently in a playoff spot.
"We're gonna have to be at our best to win," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "You have three teams that are all in the playoffs and two of them are in the top 10 in the league. Top teams that play the game the right way. For us to be able to come in and get some success on this road trip, we're gonna have to play our best and build off of the game that we just had against New York."
Last game against the Islanders the Wild shut out New York 5-0 which happened to be Marc-Andre Fleury's 552nd win of his career which put him ahead of Patrick Roy for second all-time.
A win like that was a big one for the Wild and something they can definitely build on but they can't let that distract them from not being ready when the puck is dropped tonight.
"Yeah, it was obviously a big game for us and just looking to try and play like that and build on our game," Brock Faber said. "Find that game as early as we can and go from there."
Tonight it is the Tampa Bay Lightning and tomorrow the Wild face the Florida Panthers before traveling to Carolina to play the Hurricanes on Sunday. Tampa currently holds onto the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and the Panthers are second in the Atlantic division and sixth in the NHL. Carolina is tenth in the NHL and third in the Metropolitan division.
"Just one game at a time," Faber told the Hockey News about what the focus is ahead of this road trip. "We're in a spot here where we got to start putting together wins, a lot more than we have. It's a very important road trip for us, so to bring home as many points as we can is what we need to do."
It even goes beyond this road trip. The Wild have a three-game homestand after this road trip to end January before the All-Star break hits. It seems like a great time for this team to prove to and show to Bill Guerin, the Wild's General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, what they are made of.
"Yeah. That's where we are. If we're going to make the playoffs, we need to be a lot better than we've been," Guerin said. "You know what, our core guys, our big players have to be better and produce at more key times.
"Our special teams have to be better and our role players have to contribute more than they have. I believe that they can. I believe that they will, or I'm hoping that they will. And like I said, I still believe in this group and I know people are going to say I'm crazy, but it's just... I do."