Ryan Donato moves from center to left wing as Wild juggles lines

EAGLE, Colo.

After playing the Stars on Thursday in Dallas, the Wild will close out its exhibition schedule Sunday afternoon at home against the Winnipeg Jets.

"We're just trying a different [look]," coach Bruce Boudreau said, "and we wanted to make sure we didn't spring this on guys like next Tuesday."

Ryan Donato's audition at center seems to be over, as he shifted to left wing alongside center Mikko Koivu and right winger Ryan Hartman.

Boudreau said he still considers Donato a possible fill-in up the middle but, for now, Luke Kunin will take over at center. Kunin worked with wingers Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello.

Moving Kunin to center opened the door for another lefty to take a right-wing spot, and Jordan Greenway was the one to get the nod. He filled out a line with Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek. Greenway has played primarily at left wing after a brief stint at center.

"We've got three left shots on the right side, which isn't ideal," Boudreau said. "But Greener, I think he's confident enough now that he felt good about it."

Kevin Fiala slotted on the right side of Jason Zucker and Eric Staal, as expected, with J.T. Brown, Gerald Mayhew, Victor Rask, Drew Stafford and Nico Sturm skating as a fifth unit.

"We'll see how it works out," Boudreau said.

Defenseman Greg Pateryn, who's been dealing with a lower-body injury, returned to practice Tuesday.

"I would love for him to play Thursday and Sunday," Boudreau said.

Pateryn has yet to play in the preseason. Fellow blue liner Brad Hunt missed the session because of back spasms.

The Wild assigned Matt Bartkowski, Luke Johnson and Kyle Rau to Iowa of the American Hockey League after all three cleared waivers, dropping the training camp roster to 29.

More cuts are likely to come before the team's final preseason game.