TORONTO – Forward Gerald Mayhew will make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, an addition to the Wild lineup that will bump winger Kevin Fiala to the sidelines.
Gerald Mayhew debuts, Kevin Fiala sits for Wild vs. Leafs
This is the first time Kevin Fiala's been a healthy scratch with the Wild since the team acquired him last season from Nashville in exchange for Mikael Granlund.
October 15, 2019 at 5:14PM
This is the first time Fiala's been a healthy scratch with the Wild since the team acquired him last season from the Predators in exchange for forward Mikael Granlund.
"I just think we can get more out of him," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's a really skilled player. For our team, we need more from our skilled players. It's as simple as that. We sat Ryan Donato the other day, and he came back and I thought performed really well. We're hoping for the same effect on Kevin."
Through a 1-4 start for the Wild, Fiala has one assist, seven shots on goal and is a minus-3.
Overall, since he joined the Wild with the potential to be a dynamic force in its top six, Fiala has registered three goals and eight points in 24 games.
"I want to be in the lineup like everybody in this league," Fiala said. "I'm not happy at all right now. So next time I'm in I'm going to try everything to make sure this doesn't happen anymore."
As for Mayhew, his debut comes after an impressive stint with Iowa in the American Hockey League.
Before his call-up Sunday, he had three goals and six points in four games – this after he scored 27 and racked up 60 points last season as Iowa's leading scorer.
Mayhew will have a group of 12 family members and friends in attendance Tuesday.
"I've got to keep level-headed," he said. "I can't get too excited because then things could go wrong. [But] it's an exciting time for sure."
Projected lineup:
Ryan Donato-Eric Staal-Ryan Hartman
Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Jason Zucker
Marcus Foligno-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin
Gerald Mayhew-Victor Rask-Jordan Greenway
Ryan Suter-Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin-Jared Spurgeon
Carson Soucy-Brad Hunt
Devan Dubnyk
Key numbers:
9-2: The Wild's record vs. Toronto over its last 11 meetings.
.910: Save percentage for goalie Devan Dubnyk in 10 starts against the Leafs.
4-0-1: Showing for the Wild last season when it scored the first goal in the second half of a back-to-back.
13: Points for Wild defensemen through five games.
1-2-1: Record for the Leafs on home ice this season.
About the Maple Leafs:
Toronto is off to an up-and-down start. After winning its first two games, the team went 0-2-1 before winning Saturday in Detroit 5-2. Center Auston Matthews leads the team with seven points, six of which are goals. Two of those tallies have come on the power play where the Leafs are operating at 22.7 percent. Overall, they're averaging four goals per game.
Minnesota lost its fourth game in a row, this one to the league leader and a Central Division rival.
