It is that magical time of year when the leaves are all changing colors and just like their green that fades away so do the bad memories of early playoff exits from last season, only to be replaced with the bright yellows and reds of new hope for a new season. There is a certain type of positivity that lies over every team at the start of the regular season, as any team can theoretically string together a series of events that leads them to their (and their fans) final goal: the Stanley Cup.
The Minnesota Wild begin that journey tonight with their season/home opener against the team that got the closest to achieving that dream last season, but still ended up falling short, the Florida Panthers.
Setting the Stage
Minnesota Wild Lineup
Pretty much every Wild fan has known for a long time what the opening night roster for the 2023-24 season was going to look like. As of this writing, we are without official confirmation on the lines, but barring any last-minute changes they should be identical to what they iced in their last preseason game against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 7. Although changes in the pairings on the blue line are not expected, that would be the one area where changes could occur.
Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
Freddy Gaudreau – Marco Rossi – Marcus Foligno
Brandon Duhaime – Connor Dewar – Pat Maroon
Jake Middleton – Alex Goligoski
Jonas Brodin – Brock Faber
Jon Merrill – Calen Addison
Filip Gustavsson – Marc-Andre Fleury
Keys to the Game
No Excuses
The beauty of preseason games is that regardless of the outcome, there’s always an opportunity to dismiss it as “just a preseason game” if the final result isn’t to your liking, while of course, a win is still a win. That time is now over as points are on the line and although it is a long 82-game schedule, a win collected on opening night is worth the same two points as a win collected heading down the stretch towards the postseason.
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Last season the Wild dropped their first three games despite a strong preseason, and the 2023-24 roster contains a majority of the same players, meaning they should be well aware of the dangers of walking into the regular season without being fully prepared to give everything for a win.
Defense Covers for Injured Spurgeon
Sometimes an injury provides the opportunity for other players to step up their game and have some time in the spotlight. We saw that exact premise occur last season when superstar Kirill Kaprizov got injured and in his absence, youngster Matt Boldy became a goal-scoring machine.
The hope is that without Jared Spurgeon around for at least the first couple of weeks, we will see some of the Wild’s other defensemen become more noticeable in their zone, as well as in the offensive zone. Both Jacob Middleton and Jon Merrill showed their offensive prowess in the last preseason game as they had the first two goals of the game.
Take Advantage of Panthers’ Injuries
The Panthers are a very difficult team to get a read on. At some points last season they looked well out of the playoff race and were struggling to even win games, yet they ended up battling against all odds to reach the Stanley Cup Final. The hope for the Wild is that they are the former in tonight’s meeting as they are missing some big players in Sam Bennett, Brandon Montour, and Aaron Ekblad. The loss of Ekblad and Montour on their right defense is a huge blow and should be a primary focus point for the Wild as a lot of their defensemen will be playing in elevated roles with more minutes than they are used to. That includes former Wild Dmitry Kulikov who appears to be part of their second pairing.
Next on the Docket
The Wild won’t stay in St. Paul for long as they head north for a two-game Canadian road trip where they will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Oct. 14, and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Oct. 17. The Leafs and Canadiens opened their season last night (Oct. 11) against each other with the Maple Leafs coming out on top to gain an early lead in the latest version of that rivalry.
