The Wild is changing its lineup ahead of Game 2 against the Blues on Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center, subbing Alex Goligoski in for Dmitry Kulikov on defense.
Wild's Alex Goligoski draws in for Game 2; Marc-Andre Fleury back in net vs. Blues
Defenseman Alex Goligoski will make his Wild playoffs debut on Wednesday in Game 2 against the Blues.
May 4, 2022 at 5:27PM
This will be Goligoski's first playoff game with the Wild, but he has 43 games of experience over his career and was with the Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009. The change comes after the Wild dropped Game 1 to St. Louis, getting blanked 4-0 on Monday to lose home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.
TV: ESPN and BSN at 8:30 p.m.; Radio 100.3 FM, Sirius/XM Ch. 220
"I'm excited obviously," Goligoski said. "It's the best time of the year. Every player, every team wants to be playing right now. It's just go out there, have fun, compete. I played these games before, so it's about just competing and working and really just having fun out there."
Marc-Andre Fleury will be back in net for the Wild after he posted 27 saves in Game 1.
"There was no goals that were a direct result of Marc-Andre Fleury, that's for sure," coach Dean Evason said. "He made first saves on all of them I think and had to make two, three after that. It's on us as a team to clear those rebounds, get pucks away from the net and get people away from the net.
"You look at the 5-on-5 goal there's like seven mistakes before it gets to him, so that's on us."
Not only did the Wild go 0-for-6 on the power play, but was the team was shut out for just the second time this season.
"They did a good job of where we didn't get second, third opportunities like we normally do. We've got to get a greater commitment to get there tonight than we did the other night, for sure. But it's not a secret how to score goals in our league. You got to get there, and we've got to fight a little harder to get to that spot."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Nic Deslauriers-Tyson Jost-Brandon Duhaime
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill-Alex Goligoski
Marc-Andre Fleury
Key numbers:
2: Power play goals by the Blues in Game 1.
2-13: All-time record for the Wild in Game 2.
3: Assists for Blues defenseman Torey Krug in Game 1.
4: Points for St. Louis' David Perron in the last game.
6: Consecutive victories for the Blues over the Wild.
About the Blues:
St. Louis is 6-1-2 in its last nine games at Xcel Energy Center. Goalie Ville Husso became the first goalie in Blues history to record a shutout in his playoff debut. Captain Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and assist, his 12th multi-point game of the postseason. Since the NHL trade deadline, St. Louis is a league-best 10-1-1 on the road. In a best-of-seven, the Blues are 20-12 when win they win Game 1.
The Wild head toward a big game against Dallas with one of the NHL’s best records but also with health concerns after Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello exited injured.
