No more exhibition tune-ups.
Wild's lineup features three new faces as regular season begins tonight vs. Rangers
After a 6-1 preseason, the Minnesota Wild kicks off the regular season at the X against the Rangers, who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season.
October 14, 2022 at 12:55AM
Now the games count.
After a successful 6-1 preseason, the Wild kicks off the regular season on Thursday against the Rangers at Xcel Energy Center.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on BSN.
"It's going to be a fun game," winger Tyson Jost said. "It's going to be exciting for the crowd. I know we're pumped to be back in front of our home crowd. It's always electric here at the X. Minny fans are the best.
"It's going to be a good test for us, and we want to start off on the right foot."
The Wild will have three new faces in action: forwards Marco Rossi and Sam Steel and defenseman Calen Addison.
Rossi and Addison, who spent most of last season in the minors, made the team out of training camp, while Steel was an offseason free-agent addition. Although this will be their first season opener with the Wild, Rossi and Addison have each already played with the team.
Rossi had his NHL debut last season and ended up appearing in two games total before returning to Iowa in the American Hockey League. As for Addison, he's skated in 18 games over the past two seasons.
He'll fill out the third defensive pairing next to Jake Middleton, and Rossi will center the fourth line alongside Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime.
"It feels completely different," Rossi said. "First, I'm really excited for tonight, but I have more confidence than last year. I had a really good camp, so I just try to continue from there."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Tyson Jost-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Frederick Gaudreau-Sam Steel-Matt Boldy
Connor Dewar-Marco Rossi-Brandon Duhaime
Alex Goligoski-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Jake Middleton-Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury
Key numbers:
6: Wins for the Wild in their last eight games vs. the Rangers.
14-1-1: Run by the Wild at home to close out last regular season.
23-5-4: Record for the Wild against the Eastern Conference last season.
31: Victories for the Wild on home ice in 2021-22.
99: Career goals for captain Jared Spurgeon.
About the Rangers:
New York arrives at Xcel Energy Center already 1-0. In a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers upended the Lightning 3-1 on Tuesday. Center Mika Zibanejad scored twice, and winger Barclay Goodrow had the other tally. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves. The Rangers dropped both games against the Wild last season.
After letting 135-footer bounce in early, Fleury steadied himself in 5-3 victory.
