A potential first-round playoff preview will be on display Monday night at Xcel Energy Center when the Wild host the Kraken.
Wild, Kraken face off at Xcel Energy Center in potential playoff preview
The Wild currently sit atop the Central Division with 93 points, one ahead of Dallas and Colorado, while Seattle is in the Western Conference's first wild card seat.
March 27, 2023 at 4:33PM
The Wild currently sit atop the Central Division with 93 points, one ahead of Dallas and Colorado, while Seattle is in the Western Conference's first wild card seat. If the standings stayed this way the rest of the regular season, these two teams would face off in Round 1. Each side has won once this season, with the Kraken blanking the Wild 4-0 on Nov. 3 in St. Paul before the Wild shut out Seattle 1-0 on Nov. 11 at Climate Pledge Arena.
"Such a great turnaround for their hockey club," coach Dean Evason said of the Kraken, who already have 28 more points than they did from their inaugural season as an expansion team. "They're a real good hockey club that has all kinds of elements, and the one thing that we've talked about is all four lines can score on their team.
"They play hard and gritty. It's a great challenge for us."
Marc-Andre Fleury, who recorded that 28-save shutout vs. Seattle, will be in net for the Wild.
In front of him, the Wild will make one change to their blue line: Jon Merrill will sub in for Calen Addison.
John Klingberg remains out with an upper-body injury. Klingberg skated Monday morning and will accompany the team on its upcoming road trip that starts Wednesday against the Avalanche. The defenseman hasn't played since last Tuesday at New Jersey.
Projected lineup:
Marcus Foligno-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy
Brandon Duhaime-Frederick Gaudreau-Oskar Sundqvist
Mason Shaw-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill-Alex Goligoski
Marc-Andre Fleury
Key numbers:
3-1-1: Record for Fleury in his career vs. Seattle.
9: Points for Ryan Hartman over his past nine games.
14: Points for Matt Boldy in his last 11 games.
19: One-goal wins for the Wild this season.
32: Points for the Wild since Feb. 17.
About the Kraken:
Seattle is coming off a 7-2 rout of Nashville on Saturday. Center Matty Beniers leads NHL rookies in scoring with 50 points. He has 20 goals and 30 assists. Overall, Seattle's 28-point jump from last season is an NHL record for the largest increase by an expansion team. The Kraken are also just the second expansion club in the Original Six era to post at least 40 wins in its second season.
The team has continued to play high-level hockey for long enough that it’s no longer a surprise. President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin sees the reasons for that and sees no reason for it to stop.
