Minnesota Wild (25-19-8) at Columbus Blue Jackets (14-32-6)

Nationwide Arena @ 6:00 PM CST
Television: FSN+
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Columbus perspective, check out The Cannon

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a mystery wrapped in an enigma and served with a side of WTF. Looking at the names skating with the offense, the Jackets should be a scoring machine. Rick Nash and Jeff Carter are tasked with carrying this team, but it seems the woes of the defense and goaltending have spread throughout the team.

All of that is really too bad. The Jackets have a passionate fan base that gets zero credit for the way they support their team, mostly due to the face that the team is just never very good. The Columbus area remains one of the places on the NHL map where people look at it and say, "Really? There's a team there?" A winning team would get rid of that, and the fans deserve that.

The state of the Jackets this year is as big a surprise as any other team in the league. If you predicted the Jackets to be in dead last, raise your hand. Now, anyone who isn't fooling themselves into thinking they made that prediction, keep your hand up. Anyone left? Didn't think so.

Still, the Jackets have been the bane of their expansion brethren since the beginning. Nash is a Wild killer extraordinaire. No matter the position of these two teams, the Wild need to be ramped up for a tough battle. The two teams tend to bring out the worst in each other. Fights, bad hits, and chippy plays from both sides are to be fully expected tonight.

The news sounds like Mikko Koivu remains out, Niklas Backstrom starts. Kassian in for Brad Staubitz. Everything else looks to remain the same. This lineup played well against the Stars, save for a bumbling Marke Zidlicky coming back from his time off. The guess has to be if he looks like he did in Dallas, he won't be in the lineup again come Thursday.

Should be a fun one, folks.

PLEASE NOTE FSN+ TONIGHT. FSN+. NOT FSN, FSN+. ONE MORE TIME: FSN+.

Five Questions:

1. Can the Wild avoid playing down to the opponent?
   
2. Is there a way to stop the Wild Killer?
3. Can Backstrom continue to hold his team in the game?
   
4. Is tonight the night Christensen makes his presence felt?
   
5. First game for Gillies against the Wild. How does he respond?
   

Minnesota Wild (25-19-7) at Dallas Stars (26-22-2)

American Airlines Center @ 7:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Dallas perspective, check out Defending Big D

The Wild haven't won in Dallas since March of 2003. Does that mean anything going into tonight's game? The players will tell you know, the stat folks will try to tell you it doesn't matter. Of course, both would be dead wrong. There is a reason why the Wild haven't won in Dallas in nine years, even though the Stars have not always been the greatest team during that stretch.

Probably pure coincidence.

Tonight begins the Erik Christensen era for the Wild. He will slot in on the third line, maybe getting some power play time should the occasion arise. There is not a ton of confidence from his former fan base, but the Wild side of coin seem to be reserving judgment. Fans here have burned by trades too many times to get overly excited by them in the early goings. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

The Stars have a cobbled together roster that has cost them in the standings as of late. Sound familiar to anyone? They still certainly have the capacity to put a hurting on any team in the NHL, but they certainly aren't the glory days anymore. A cursory glance at the roster says the Wild, should they play their game, have a good chance to win.

History, of course, says otherwise.

Looks like Zidlicky gets his shot to return to the lineup. How he responds will be an excellent indication of his ability to handle adversity. You can bet your life if he goes out with a -3 tonight, he doesn't see the ice for a month. Or maybe that's just me.

It would be a lie to say there is a great deal of confidence exuding from this side of the computer screen. Stranger things have happened, but it is tough to beat a curse.

Enjoy the game

Five Questions:

1. How does Christensen look in his first game in a Wild sweater?
   
2. Can Backstrom follow up his shutout with another solid performance?
3. Can the curse be beaten?
   
4. How does Zidlicky look in his return from the dog house?
   
5. If a game happens on a Saturday night, in Dallas, and no one watches, does it still count?
   

Minnesota Wild (24-19-7) at Colorado Avalanche (26-24-2)

Pepsi Center @ 8:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey

Back in Denver for a rematch against the most exciting team in hockey. Woo.

Yes, the Wild were just in Denver. Yes the schedule makers for the NHL must think they are just so very funny. Yes the travel is ridiculous. But hey, the PA is worried about so many different aspects of the new alignment, it isn't just the travel (read: they want more money to allow the NHL to do what makes sense).

The Wild are coming off one of the worst loses in team history, the Avs wanting desperately to take the 8th spot from them, yet losing to the Oilers. Neither team is going to be happy, which could make a chippy "rivalry" even more so. Maybe this is the game Matt Kassian gets some revenge for the first meeting of these two teams. Maybe not.

Same lineup tonight for the Wild, as it looks like Mike Yeo gives his guys a chance to respond to the loss at home. Have to admit, I love the idea to not put Marek Zidlicky back in. Sends the wrong message, in my mind. Rather than seeing "We sucked, he's taking me out," the players see "If I whine enough, I can get back in." Big fan of the accountability level from Yeo.

There you have, folks. Big two points, as always. Enjoy the game.

Five Questions:

1. Getting embarrassed can motivate or crush souls. Which will it be tonight?
   
2. Backstrom back in the cage. Does it help?
3. Wild need a leader. Who will it be?
   
4. Any chance, any at all, that the Wild play the system for a full 60 tonight?
   
5. How many times does Adrian Dater make himself look stupid tonight?
   

Minnesota Wild (24-18-7) at Nashville Predators (26-22-2)

Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Nashville perspective, check out On the Forecheck

Welcome back to real, honest to goodness, NHL hockey.

This should be an interesting stretch run for the Wild. As of this evening, Marek Zidlicky is not happy, and has all but requested a trade out of Minnesota. Note, that he has not asked for it, but read between the lines. Should be interesting how that plays out. To be blunt, the Wild are a better team without him, but he seems to be a good guy, so hopefully everything works out for both sides.

On the hockey side of things, it is nice to have live action in games that count back again. The Preds is always a fun match up, both on the ice and off. Great team, great players, great fan base. Just watching Weber, Suter, and Rinne is worth the time.

The Preds are also red hot right now, and making a charge through the standings. The Wild will need to shake the rust off early and play the system perfectly if they hope to have a chance. As you all may know, these two low scoring teams often pile up the goals against each other, so perhaps this will be another one of those games.

Enjoy the game tonight. JS has you through the game and beyond as Nathan celebrates his daughter's birthday., and I celebrate my wife's. If you have a chance, please make sure to go vote for DTBL in the Joining Forces Community Challenge.

Five Questions:

1. Who steps up for the Wild tonight?
   
2. Is the Zidlicky situation a distraction at all?
3. Can the Wild find a way through some of the best defense in the league?
   
4. Shoot early, shoot often seems to be the only way through Rinne. Can the Wild get to him?
   
5. Can the kids continue to step up?
   

Minnesota Wild (23-18-7) at Colorado Avalanche (26-22-2)

Pepsi Center @ 8:00 PM CST
Television: NBCSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey

Don't. Change. A. Thing.

The Wild need this to be the mantra for this game. Play exactly the way they did against the Stars, and life will be good. Play like the Wild team we've seen the past month, and they will get a quick lesson in why the Avs sit one spot above the Wild in the Northwest. Going into the All-Star break, being one spot above the Avs would certainly be better, no?

The Avalanche are one of the most boring teams in hockey. No, the irony of someone who covers the Wild calling a team boring is not lost. The Avs have writers and fans that love to rail on and on about how boring the Wild are when they come to town. They fail to realize there is another team involved in those contests. For the love of everything good and kind, their fans were excited when they signed Chick Kobasew. Yawn.

Still, excitement or no, the Wild need to find a way to win this game. A win on the road to snap the losing streak, a win of any kind to build a winning streak, and a positive entrance to the break would be of value immeasurable. That, of course, will not be an easy task. The Avs have some good talent on the roster, even if, at times, they don't care to show that talent. Sound familiar?

The last time these two teams met, Justin Falk took a shot to the head, and Erik Johnson attempted to decapitate Matt Cullen at the final horn. With Matt Kassian up, that likely won't happen again. However, these two teams do not like each other, and everything points to that not ending anytime soon. It will be chippy, there will be emotion. The only question is who controls themselves long enough to take advantage of the other's mistakes.

Five Questions:

1. Over under of how long it takes Kassian to seek retribution is set at 5 minutes. What you got?
   
2. Can Wild fans stay awake with the most exciting team in hockey hosting the Wild?
3. Who steps up in this one?
   
4. Can the Wild overtake the Avs into the break?
   
5. How many times does Adrian Dater make himself look stupid tonight?
   

Minnesota Wild (22-18-7) at Dallas Stars (24-20-2)

Xcel Energy Center @ 8:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Dallas perspective, check out Defending Big D

We have heard of this thing called "winning," but the proof of life has yet to be delivered. What does it take to buy a win around here? Who knows, but maybe all it takes is a visit from a team that used to reside in the area. Norm Green still sucks.

The Stars are a good team with some recent struggles of their own. Those struggled likely coincided with the shutting down of the once red hot Eric Nystrom. Yes, that Eric Nystrom. Look on the Wild roster for the player returned in the trade, and you will see (way down at the bottom) "Cap Space Remaining." Sure hope that cap space provides something that will help at some point.

The Wild, on the other hand, have not been good at much of anything for the better part of a month. At some point, the Wild have to trip over a win. As Bruce said on Twitter, the Wild have given up on trying to arrange the deck chairs, and instead swapped the deck chairs for the chairs in the basement. Are Chad Rau, Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer, and Nate Prosser the answer? If they are, the universe has a cruel sense of humor.

It's Hockey Day Minnesota. It's been a long, full day of hockey. Let's hope the Wild give it a proper send off.

By the way... good luck with lines. We're out of office all day. Watch for lines on Twitter, I guess.

Five Questions:

1. Is it possible to win hockey games?
   
2. Do any of the "new" guys contribute?
3. Who is the hero / goat?
   
4. Anyone care to actually play some hockey?
   
5. Favorite part of the day?
   

Minnesota Wild (22-17-7) at Toronto Maple Leafs (22-18-5)

Air Canada Centre @ 6:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Toronto perspective, check out Pension Plan Puppets

Quick poll - how many of you feel the Wild can win this one?

The Maple Leafs come in riding a three game losing streak. Wild fans pine for the day when it was only three. The Leafs have a similar record to the Wild, but after that, the similarities end. They have Kessel to score goals, they have Komisarek who plays some defense, and they have goalies that tend to stop the puck from time to time. Only time to time, though.

They have their struggles, just like any other team, and those struggles are always amplified by the Toronto media, which is about as intense as they come. Nothing goes without scrutiny, and anything they don't know, they often just make up. It has proven ugly several times in the past few years, none more so than this season after GM Brian Burke and coach Ron Wilson joined Twitter. The ins and outs of the network confounded some of the media and they felt slighted. Over Twitter. Awesome.

Right now, neither team shouldn't give a rip about the media. Both have issues to resolve, and all of them are on the ice. Winning solves everything. Win, the problems stop. Simple as that.

The Wild trot out some new lines, and a return of the third line that did so well in the early part of the season. Can the Walz / Gaborik effect help Peters / Heatley? It can't be worse than the "one scorer, one worker" idea against the Flyers.

Niklas Backstrom returns after missing a few games due to what sounds like a nasty bug. The guy lost six pounds. I've seen him. He doesn't have six pounds to lose. Yuk. How he responds to being back in game action will play a large part in how this game goes for the Wild.

Play the system, win the game. Simple as that. Right?

Five Questions:

1. Does Heatley / Peters / Setoguchi work?
   
2. How does Backstrom look in his return?
3. Justin Falk sits. Can Zanon steal his spot?
   
4. How well does the Wellman - Cullen - Clutterbuck line work?
   
5. Anyone coming out to Skate for the Troops on Saturday?
   

Minnesota Wild (22-16-7) at Philadelphia Flyers (26-13-4)

Wells Fargo Center @ 6:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Philadelphia perspective, check out Broad Street Hockey

If you thought it was injuries, giving up on the system and each other, a roster in constant flux, and players being passive and soft on the puck were the cause of the Wild's woes, rejoice in your wrongitude. As we learned in the comment section for the opposition today, it was all Corsi and on-ice save percentages. Te loss of Koivu did nothing to this team the first round, the hit Pierre-Marc Bouchard took from Bogosian had no impact on his play, Guillaume Latendresse is a terrible hockey player, oh and Mikko Koivu is mediocre.

All good lessons to have going into the game, so that you all know just how big of morons you all are for thinking there was some kind of performance based reasoning to the slide. Enjoy that, everyone.

Also, for anyone who has been around SBNation for more than this season (welcome to those who haven't), remember when you could go to an opposing team's SBNation site and not instantly be treated like a pariah? Those were the days.

To the game, as if it actually matters.

The Flyers have proven themselves to be a better team than the Wild, despite injuries to their roster as well. Chris Pronger is out with a concussion, a little karmic irony if there ever was any, meaning he won't be out there patrolling the ice, which would give the Wild a better chance to win, if not for their complete ineptitude on the ice. The list of players who have been inured for the Flyers is nearly as long as that of the Wild. The biggest difference is that HWSRN did not draft the guys who fill in for injured Flyers.

Of course, injuries are no excuse, especially when the injured players can be filled in for by guys who should likely be in the NHL anyway.

in order to win this game, the Wild need to hope for a rip in the space-time continuum and for the Flyers to play one of their worst games of the year. Look at the lineup the Wild is going to put out there tonight. We're not convinced this lineup could beat most AHL squads, let alone one of the best in the East.

See, there we did it again. The players in the lineup make no difference. How can we possibly get past this belief that who is playing matters? Perhaps some electro-convulsive therapy. Bring it on.

Enjoy the game. Or, what passes as a game these days.

Five Questions:

1. Has to be asked - Can the Wild rally around each other and pull out a win?
   
2. How bad can it look without Koivu?
3. Will anyone on the team step up to play some defense?
   
4. Harding with his fourth straight start. How long is he in a Wild sweater?
   
5. Can we get through this one without a lecture?
   

Minnesota Wild (22-16-6) at St. Louis Blues (25-12-6)

Scottrade Center @ 7:00 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the St. Louis perspective, check out St. Louis Game Time

The Wild, sans Colton Gillies, are up for a challenge tonight. This is not the same Blues team that the Wild have encountered twice already this season. They are confident, proud, and playing lights out hockey. They sat atop the West just a few days ago, and now sit in third in the Central, fourth in the West. It is actaully rather fun to see the Hawks, Wings, and Blues duking it out in the Central. Wish the Wild could be part of that.

The Wild come back with the Harding / Hackett tandem, despite a rather... unimpressive result against Chicago. Chuck Fletcher and Mike Yeo are ridiculously angry about their team's performance, a player has been sent packing, and a message has been delivered to the vets on the team, both in the media and in person. Anyone want to take bets on if the Wild play their tails off tonight?

The Blues will not simply stand idly by and allow the Wild to rediscover themselves. This matchup has become rather hostile in the past, and will likely be again tonight. The teams, for whatever reason, really don't like each other much. Which is good for a Wild team needing to find some emotion.

According to the Blues beat writer, Jaroslav Halak has never beaten the Wild. So, there's that. Any bit of confidence the Wild can find is a victory. Even a moral victory might be kind of nice tonight. Of course, the two points would be better.

Five Questions:

1. From aggressive to passive. Which team shows up tonight?
   
2. Did the team get the message yet, or is it going to take benching Koivu?
3. Can these two teams get through a game without trying to kill each other?
   
4. Can Harding spring back from a soft performance?
   
5. How does Lundin look in his first game back?
   

Minnesota Wild (22-15-6) at Chicago Blackhawks (25-13-3)

United Center @ 7:30 PM CST
Television: FSN
Listen Live at: KFAN (100.3) or Wild.com

For the Chicago perspective, check out Second City Hockey

The title is a bit longer for Kaptain Koivu today. He is now All Star Kaptain Mikko Koivu. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Should be a fun one tonight, as the Wild seemed to rediscover themselves on Tuesday vs the Sharks, save for the last ten minutes of the third period. A newly aggressive team could be a reawakening, which would be very bad for the Hawks tonight. The last time these teams met, it went to a shootout in which Niklas Backstrom was made to look remarkably silly. No matter the outcome, that won't happen tonight.

Niklas Backstrom is the latest to fall victim to a illness that apparently will now make its way through the locker room. Josh Harding had it yesterday, and now Backstrom has it. Backstrom flew with the team, meaning he was in a flying metal tube with the rest of the team with recirculated air for a couple hours. No way it spreads any further, right? Right.

The Hawks are always dangerous, with a whole host of players who could pit three or four on any given night. Their defense is prime, their goaltending certainly above average. If the Wild do not play a perfect game, in a hostile building, they will get destroyed. No taking ten minutes off tonight.

With re-alignment "off," this doesn't have the same rivalry feel to it that the last one did, but it will certainly be fun to watch. Hold on tight folks.

Five Questions:

1. The aggressive Wild showed up in the last game. Are they around tonight?
   
2. How does Koivu look with his newly minted All-Starness?
3. Can the defense pull together and maybe NOT give up four goals?
   
4. Who gets to be the hero (or goat) tonight?
   
5. How does Setoguchi look in his first game back after sitting in the corner?