Wild Vs Avalanche: Projected Lineup, Hynes' Olympic return and roster notes
The Minnesota Wild head to Denver for a challenge of the league-leading Avalanche at Ball Arena, and the projected roster and coaching notes matter as the teams meet with playoff positioning in mind. The projected lines below are subject to change, and John Hynes returns from the Olympics with fresh experience he says will benefit the club.
Projected forward group at Ball Arena lists Kaprizov, Hartman and Zuccarello
The Minnesota Wild’s projected first line lists 97 Kirill Kaprizov, 38 Ryan Hartman and 36 Mats Zuccarello. The second line is projected as 90 Marcus Johansson, 14 Joel Eriksson Ek and 12 Matt Boldy. The third line shows 13 Yakov Trenin, 22 Danila Yurov and 91 Vladimir Tarasenko, while the fourth line projects 17 Marcus Foligno, 78 Nico Sturm and 18 Vinnie Hinostroza. The projection is noted as subject to change for the game at Ball Arena in Denver.
John Hynes back from Milan after Team USA Olympic run
Wild head coach John Hynes served as an assistant coach for Team USA’s Olympic championship run in Milan. Hynes emphasized that Olympic medals go only to players, not coaches—"World Championships you do, " he said, "But Olympics they don't. In any [Olympic] events they don't. " He said the experience of helping end a 46-year gold medal drought will improve his coaching and benefit the Wild when the season resumes on Feb. 26 at Colorado.
Practice status: Boldy, Faber and Quinn Hughes absent on Feb. 25
Hynes was back on the ice with the Wild on Feb. 25 for the team's last practice before traveling to play the Avalanche, but Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes were still absent at that session. After Team USA outlasted Canada 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 22, the U. S. players were invited by President Donald Trump to the State of the Union; most players, including Boldy, Faber and Hughes, were at the White House and the speech. The Wild players were scheduled to fly with the club to Colorado, and Hynes said the plan is for all three to be in action vs. the Avalanche.
Hynes frames the White House visit as a team celebration, not politics
Hynes pushed back on reading political meaning into the State of the Union visit: "It's not a political thing, " he said, noting there are Democrats and Republicans on the team and calling the White House trip a life experience for the players—an opportunity to meet the president and attend the address. He said he was happy the players had the opportunity to take part if they chose to.
Wild staff supported Team USA in Italy and Bill Guerin's role on management
The Wild had athletic trainers John Worley and Travis Green and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joel Boyd in Italy supporting Team USA. Assistant general manager Chris Kelleher was on the U. S. management staff, which was helmed by President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin as its GM. Hynes said it was "nice to see him just how relieved he was and how proud he was of the players that he picked and the staff and the team, " adding that Guerin looked relieved and had tears in his eyes on the bench.
Standings pressure: Wild tied for second with 78 points, Foligno on chasing Colorado
The Wild went into the Olympics tied for the second-most points in the NHL with 78, trailing only first-place Colorado by five points. The Avalanche used up one of their three games at-hand on Feb. 25. Alternate captain Marcus Foligno said, "It'd be awesome to catch them and surpass them, " adding that being right there with a team long viewed as a Goliath was huge, that the Wild feel confident, and that they want the No. 1 spot while prioritizing getting into the playoffs.
