Minnesota Wild: News, Notes and Links 2/06

Feb 3, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund (64) celebrates his goal during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

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The Minnesota Wild are on a four game winning streak and have collected nine out of the last possible 10 points, finally stringing some wins together. On that front, it’s actually bad timing that they are in the midst of having three days in a row off. When a team is playing as well as the Wild have been they would prefer to keep it rolling. On the other hand, getting a few days off will be beneficial for guys like Justin Fontaine who are battling injuries. Darcy Kuemper is getting recalled from Iowa but it hard to imagine he will see much ice time. Devan Dubnyk has come in and solidified the goaltending position for the Wild. His numbers have been outstanding: He has started eight games, winning six while posting a goals against average of 1.48 and a save percentage of .943. Chances are his numbers will regress to the mean somewhat but it has certainly been a refreshing change.

Tomorrow, the Wild will try to keep the good times going against the Colorado Avalanche in St. Paul. Puck drop is at 7:00 on Fox Sports North. For my money, the Wild’s best game of the season is still the first: The Wild dominated Colorado 5-0 in the season opener in St. Paul on October 9th. It would be nice to see the Wild play that way against the Avalanche again, particularly because the Avalanche have emerged from their horrendous start to the season to be one of the teams the Wild are battling for the Wild Card playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Speaking of which, the Wild had a successful night last night without even playing. The Kings, Stars, Avalanche and Canucks all lost in regulation, strengthening the Wild’s position. They currently find themselves five points behind Vancouver for the final playoff spot with the same number of games played. The Wild were overdue for some help; Now, they must take advantage of it.

On to the links.

• Over on the official site of the Wild, Mike Doyle takes a look at how the Wild are trying to stay focused during their extended time off, as well as giving injury updates on Matt Cooke and Justin Fontaine.
• From our friends at Gone Puck Wild, Dustin Nelson gives a recap of Darcy Kuemper’s shut out in the Iowa Wild’s victory over the Adirondack Flames from Wednesday night.
• Ryan Dadoun at NBC Sports examines what Darcy Kuemper’s return will mean for the chemistry in the Wild locker room. Incidentally, I do not think it will be a big deal. The Wild had a three goaltender carousel last season, so this is nothing new for this team.
• Finally, Brian Hall of Fox Sports North discusses the improvement of Jason Zucker’s game at the defensive end of the ice.

Enjoy the game tomorrow. Let’s go Wild!