The Wild are back on the road tonight to face off against the Chicago Blackhawks. The plan for the Wild is to play their entire team tonight and Saturday against the Dallas Stars.
They will bring all seven defensemen to Chicago but will have Alex Goligoski sit out. Jon Merrill will play with Calen Addison on the third defense pair.
Wild head coach Dean Evason said him and his staff will re-evaluate their options for the game on Saturday in terms of who plays on the third pair.
Goligoski, 38, is entering his third season with the Wild and his 17th in the NHL. The Minnesota native has played in 118 games with the Wild where he has notched four goals and 36 points.
The long-time NHL veteran played 44 games last year for the Wild without a big injury and is expected to be limited this season as well.
Merrill, 31, is entering his third season with the Wild, 11th in the NHL, and is expected to split time on the third pair with Addison and Goligoski.
It's hard to replicate regular season gameplay in the preseason but with the Wild playing their projected opening night roster and the Blackhawks doing the same, Evason and his staff hopes it will be a good test for the Wild.
The game can be streamed on Bally Sports at 7:30 p.m. central time.
Projected Lineup
Kirill Kaprizov - Ryan Hartman - Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno - Marco Rossi - Freddy Gaudreau
Pat Maroon - Connor Dewar - Brandon Duhaime
Defensive pairs:
Jake Middleton - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Brock Faber
Jon Merrill - Calen Addison
Starting goaltender: Marc-Andre Fleury
Required Reading:
• Wild send Jesper Wallstedt to Iowa
• Minnesota Wild assign Sammy Walker to Iowa, place four players on waivers
• 'His speed and shot are elite': Hunter Haight strives to be 'a name they need to talk about'
