Despite missing the third period Tuesday and not participating in practice Wednesday, defenseman Matt Dumba is expected to play Thursday against the Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center.
Matt Dumba expected to play for Wild vs. Avalanche
Despite missing the third period Tuesday and not participating in practice Wednesday, defenseman Matt Dumba is expected to play tonight against the Avalanche at the X.
November 21, 2019 at 5:21PM
The team, however, won't get goalie Devan Dubnyk back.
He continues to deal with a family issue, which kept him out of practice Wednesday. Kaapo Kahkonen will back up Alex Stalock after getting recalled from the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.
Coach Bruce Boudreau isn't sure when Dubnyk will rejoin the team, which leaves for a three-game road trip Friday that starts Saturday in Boston.
This will be Stalock's second straight start, as he was in net for the 4-1 win over the Sabres on Tuesday. Stalock made 30 saves.
"I thought he was in control," Boudreau said. "When I watched the game again [Wednesday] morning, other than that one play that could've been icing he really handled the puck well and managed it well. There was nothing exciting about it. He just managed it well and when he does that, it sure alleviates a lot of forechecking."
After taking a tour of the Pacific Division earlier this month and most recently playing two Eastern Conference teams, the Wild resumes division play – which has been a struggle so far this season for the team.
It's 0-6-1 against the Central Division and 8-5-1 vs. the rest of the league.
"[These are] the teams and the games that we have to have success in if we want to get up in the standings," Boudreau said.
Projected lineup:
Jason Zucker-Eric Staal-Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin
Ryan Donato-Victor Rask-Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy-Brad Hunt
Alex Stalock
Key numbers:
3-1: Showing by goalie Alex Stalock in his last five starts.
3: Points for defenseman Jonas Brodin during a season-high three-game point streak.
3: Assists for captain Mikko Koivu over his last three games.
6: Points for winger Jason Zucker in his past seven outings.
4: Goals for winger Zach Parise in his last three games.
About the Avalanche:
This is the last stop on a five-game road trip for the Avalanche; so far, the team is 3-1. Overall, it's 5-1 over its last six – this after Colorado dropped five in a row. Forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are sidelined with lower-body injuries. Rookie Cale Makar has 13 points in nine games this month. In the same span, center Nathan MacKinnon has six goals and eight assists.
For the Wild, four points behind the league-leading Jets, this will be their most anticipated matchup against a division rival since they lost 2-1 to the Stars on Nov. 16.
