Wild vs Hurricanes: Game Preview and Line Combinations
The Minnesota Wild (5-6-3) will face the Carolina Hurricanes (8-4-0) tonight on the road in the first half of a back-to-back series. The Wild will make only one lineup change.
Defensive Debut
Daemon Hunt is set to make his season debut on the third defensive pair alongside Zeev Buium. Since this is an away game, the Wild will have the last line change, and Hunt will be playing on his offside. David Jiricek, who has no points in ten games and a minus-3 rating, will be out of the lineup.
Fourth Line and Healthy Scratch
The Wild will keep their fourth line intact with Ben Jones, Yakov Trenin, and Tyler Pitlick, who have a 3-0-0 record when playing together. Danila Yurov has been a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game. He scored his first NHL goal as a third line center in New York but has now been scratched twice with the Wild winning both games.
Yurov being scratched for three consecutive games will be something to keep an eye on.
Probable Return and Forward Lines
Mats Zuccarello is probable to return for Saturday’s game. The Wild’s forward lines are likely to be:
- Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Marcus Johansson
- Vladimir Tarasenko – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
- Marcus Foligno – Ryan Hartman – Vinnie Hinostroza
The Wild aim to build on recent positive momentum with these adjustments.
“It will be interesting to see how the Wild use that pair considering it is on the road, so last line change, and Hunt is playing on his offside.”
Author’s note: Changes in lineup and healthy scratches highlight the evolving strategy as the Wild push through a challenging road stretch.