Wild coach Hynes faces pivotal lineup calls as playoff roster battles heat up, balancing playoff grit, offensive flair, and rookie potential for Game 1 in Dallas.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild (46-24-12) have spent the past six months building toward this moment.
Now comes the hard part.
With Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs set for this weekend in Dallas, head coach John Hynes and his staff will have some tough lineup decisions to make.
The Wild already know the core of their forward group is locked in. Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy, Marcus Foligno, Michael McCarron, Yakov Trenin and Vladimir Tarasenko will all be in the lineup.
That leaves two spots to three players.
Veteran Nick Foligno, youngster Bobby Brink and rookie Danila Yurov are all on the bubble. They each bring a different element, each making a legitimate case to be part of the opening-night lineup in Dallas.
It’s the kind of decision that reveals what a team truly values this time of year.
Hynes made it clear the decision isn’t being taken lightly and it’s not just about the last week or two. It’s about everything that has led up to this moment.
“Eight months ago, we had the training camp meeting,” Hynes said. “Not every player was in that meeting, but there was a lot of players in that room… guys that had to come up from Iowa, obviously we made the trades, but every player contributed to that over the course of the journey of the 82 games to get us to where we are.”
That’s what makes this part of the process difficult. There isn’t a wrong choice but rather just different ones.
Nick Foligno brings a playoff identity that’s hard to replicate. He kills penalties, plays a heavy, straight-line game and understands the pace and physicality that comes with a series like this. Against a Dallas team that thrives off structure and mistakes, that reliability carries weight.
Bobby Brink offers something the Wild don’t have much of in their bottom six — creativity and offense. He’s the type of player who can break a game open with one play, something Minnesota has lacked in past postseason runs where scoring dried up.
Then there’s Danila Yurov, the rookie center has played in 73 games this year for the Wild and has 12 goals, 15 assists and 27 points. He has been good in the defensive zone and has offensive upside.
He finished the season by scoring in back-to-back games.
It is just, whether Hynes wants skill and offense in the bottom six or if he will elect to go with a big and heavy bottom six to try to shut down Dallas.
That’s the balance Hynes and his staff are trying to strike.
“I think when you have to make tough decisions, that’s a good thing,” he said.
It’s a sign of depth. Which is something the Wild haven’t always had when these moments arrive.
“I think it’s a good thing," Hynes said. "We were afforded the opportunity to make some of those decisions and also gave guys more ice time, more touches, more game action, see them in different roles, a couple different combinations. But I just really like the fact we came into these two games… the players that were in the lineup were focused and intense and on it.”
Who can Hynes trust in a one-goal game late in the third? Who can he trust on the penalty kill? Who can he trust not to make the mistake that swings a series?
And just as importantly — who can he trust to make the play that wins one?
By the time the Wild take the ice in Dallas, two of those three names will be in.
One won’t.
That player will still be part of the group. Still part of the journey Hynes referenced. Still one injury or one adjustment away from being back in the mix.
But for Game 1, the decision will say everything about how the Wild believe they need to win.
Defensive and physical or offensive and skilled. Proven or potential. Heavy or creative.
After six months of building, the Wild finally have options. Now they have to choose.
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