Wild at Maple Leafs
The Minnesota Wild have taken advantage of the opportunity to climb into a playoff spot and aim to remain there as they kick off a brief two-game road trip Thursday against the cellar-dwelling Toronto Maple Leafs. Minnesota posted a victory over Atlantic Division-leading Florida on Sunday and followed two days later with a 6-3 triumph over Colorado that pushed it past the Avalanche for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Charlie Coyle has been a pleasant surprise for the Wild this season, reaching the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career after tallying twice in the third period against Colorado to snap a 3-3 tie and give him 21 tallies. Toronto attempts to halt a three-game skid as it begins a four-game homestand. Year One of the Mike Babcock Era cannot end soon enough for the Maple Leafs, who have lost seven of their last eight contests and fell to 5-16-3 since a three-game winning streak that bridged December and January with Wednesday's 3-2 setback at Washington. Minnesota is looking to complete a sweep of the two-game season series after posting a 1-0 shutout at home on Dec. 3 behind a 28-save effort from Devan Dubnyk.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN North and FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota), Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto)
ABOUT THE WILD (29-25-10): Nino Niederreiter may be peaking at the right time as the right wing has scored three goals in his last three games after netting two over his previous 11 contests. The 23-year-old's two-goal performance versus the Avalanche raised his season total to 14 - 10 shy of his career high set last season. Jason Zucker (concussion) and defenseman Jonas Brodin (foot), who respectively have missed five and 13 games, could return to the lineup Thursday while David Jones, who was acquired from Calgary at Monday's trade deadline, may make his debut for Minnesota.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (21-31-10): Nikita Soshnikov is hoping Thursday's game will not be as bittersweet as the one Wednesday, when he scored his first career goal but committed a boarding penalty (his third minor of the contest) midway through the third period that led to the winning goal by Washington's Matt Niskanen. Brooks Laich and defenseman Connor Carrick made their debuts for the Maple Leafs after being acquired from the Capitals, with the latter notching an assist for his first point since Feb. 6, 2014. Toronto, which is hosting the 2016 World Cup of Hockey that begins in September, will be represented in the tournament by Leo Komarov (Team Finland) and blue-liner Morgan Rielly (Team North America).
OVERTIME
1. The Wild have been riding a roller coaster on the road, following a four-game skid with three-game winning streak before losing their last two.
2. Toronto is beginning a stretch during which it plays 10 of its next 12 contests at home.
3. Minnesota will have five representatives in the World Cup as Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were named to Team USA, captain Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund to Team Finland and Thomas Vanek to Team Europe.