Pominville getting close to a return; Vanek sits yet again tonight vs. L.A. Kings

Wild and the L.A. Kings tonight. The Wild catches the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back after getting beat last night in Nashville, but the Kings are 9-1-1 on the second night of back-to-backs and have outscored their opponent 36-20 in those games, I believe.

Jonathan Quick got the hook last night after two periods, so I'd think he starts tonight. Last time the Wild faced Jhonas Enroth, Minnesota beat him 7-zip (he gave up six) in Buffalo during Devan Dubnyk's debut last year.

Correction, and thanks to an emailer who corrected this for me, the last time the Wild faced Jhonas Enroth, he gave up six for Dallas in Feb. 2015. The time before that was the 7-zip win in Buffalo during Devan Dubnyk's debut. Enroth was in for all seven.

Dubnyk (7-1-1 in his past nine decisions) starts for the Wild. Darcy Kuemper backs up as Steve Michalek has been reassigned. Kuemper did not have a concussion, he said. It was an upper-body injury that had been lingering and one that was reaggravated after coming off the bench in New Jersey.

He said it just needed rest.

Thomas Vanek will be scratched for a third consecutive game as the Wild goes with the same lines it went with in Chicago. Nate Prosser is a game-time decision because I hear a certain defensemen is sick. If that player can go, Prosser will be scratched.

Jason Pominville took part in his first full morning skate with the team today. The vet who has rarely been hurt in his career will miss his seventh consecutive game with a groin injury tonight.

Frustrating injury for Pominville considering how important the games are now and the fact he was on fire on the right side of the Nino Niederreiter-Erik Haula line. In fact, he won the Buffalo game in the shootout.

But Pominville will practice fully Wednesday and then it'll be decided if he can play Thursday against Niklas Backstrom and the Flames. If the team feels he needs two good practices (Wednesday's practice should only be a half hour), he'd sit out Thursday, practice fully in Denver Friday and probably return Saturday against the Avs.

On Vanek, I wrote my notebook on him in yesterday's paper, but he talked again today and said, "I'm not going to lie. Obviously I'm not happy about it. It is what it is. It's a team sport, guys are going to be in and out and I'm not going to [whine] and complain about it."

He said he'd just work hard and wait for his chance to get back in. He said he'd skate hard in the morning skates and hopefully it translates into scoring goals in games once he gets back in.

"He's got his guys he trusts, so I think once I get back in there, just to play well and that's about it. That's all I can control," Vanek said of John Torchetti.

This has nothing to do with goal scoring and the fact Vanek's in a slump. Zach Parise's in a slump, too, but his work ethic doesn't wane.

Vanek said he figured he was in trouble after the Jersey game.

"I played with Granny and Zach, and I'm the one that got pulled off the line, so I think that's a pretty good sign I was coming out," he said.

Asked what Vanek has to do, Torchetti said, "We just talked about playing a two-way game. He's out right now and then when he gets the opportunity, I'm sure he'll come back and be a better player for us."

Asked if he senses Vanek's frustration, Torchetti said, "Zucks' was the same way. That's it. Zucks waited his turn. Thomas will get his turn and he'll do a good job when he gets back in."

I wrote a story about Haula and Niederreiter today and how well they have played and the fact that any right wing playing with them has been successful, whether it be Pominville, David Jones for a game or tonight's right wing, Justin Fontaine.

Torchetti equates the offense they're getting right now to the third line he had when he was an assistant in Chicago in 2010 when he said Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd were basically a 50-point line and whatever right wing put on that line would "stick out like a sore thumb if they didn't work hard."

"My job when I took over was to gain the players' confidence that I trust them in all situations," Torchetti said.

In fact, asked if he had thought about putting the snakebit Parise on the line to try to shake him out of his slump, Torchetti said, "We've thought about it. We'll see moving forward."

I asked the same thing in Chicago and the indication I got was to do that, Parise would probably have to play left wing and with Niederreiter playing the best he has played all season right now, the coaches are hesitant to do anything to that line that would change Niederreiter's game. It's interesting because every time I talk to Niederreiter, I get the sense he enjoys playing right wing more because he can shoot on his forehand coming into the zone. But it always seems to me he plays better at left wing.

Update