Wild vs Hurricanes: Game Preview and Line Combinations
The Minnesota Wild (5-6-3) face the Carolina Hurricanes (8-4-0) tonight on the road, the first game of a back-to-back series. The Wild make only one lineup change, with defenseman Daemon Hunt making his season debut.
Defense Pairing Change
Daemon Hunt, 23, will join the third defensive pair alongside Zeev Buium. Hunt has not appeared in an NHL game since October. David Jiricek, who has no points in ten games and a minus-3 rating, will be out of the lineup.
Healthy Scratch and Line Stability
The Wild will keep their fourth line intact, which means Danila Yurov is a healthy scratch for the third straight game. The line of Ben Jones, Yakov Trenin, and Tyler Pitlick has played together in three games, all wins for Minnesota.
Yurov scored his first NHL goal as the third line center in New York but has since been scratched for two games, both of which the Wild won.
Watching Yurov’s continued absence will be important for the team's dynamics moving forward. Mats Zuccarello is probable to return for Saturday's game.
Projected Wild Lineup
- Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Marcus Johansson
- Vladimir Tarasenko – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
- Marcus Foligno – Ryan Hartman – Vinnie Hinostroza
Summary
Daemon Hunt makes his season debut, while Danila Yurov’s continued scratching raises questions about his future role.
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