Wild Host Montreal In Battle Of Top Teams, Goalies
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's about Montreal Thursday night, but it's about more for the Minnesota Wild.
They've put themselves in an enviable position: A battle of two top teams, and two of the best goalies in Devan Dubnyk of Minnesota and Carey Price of the Canadiens. And as WCCO's Mike Max reports, it's one of those rare glamour matchups at Xcel Energy Center.
They beat them three weeks ago, and there is always something exciting about playing Montreal.
"They're fast. They've got Shae Weber on defense which everybody knows about, he's one of the best in the world," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They've got one of the best goalies in the world, and they compete."
It's about Montreal tonight, but it's about much more. The Minnesota Wild play nine games in the next 15 days. That means we're going to find out a whole lot about where this team stacks up in the West.
When you play that many games in that short ot time, you find out a lot and you hope it's what you already know about your team. That it's fun when you win.
"It's a lot of fun. Everyone is positive and in a good mood. Just ready to get better and come to the rink prepared," Charlie Coyle said. "That's the main goal every day is to get better and better."
What they do have going has been a very healthy season. Few injuries leads to consistency in your lineup, and that leads to a comfort level that creates success.
"It's definitely a big key. You always want to be healthy as a team and it's a good vibe in the locker room if everyone is healthy," Nino Neiderreiter said. "We have a pretty busy schedule coming up and we're taking it day-by-day."
And that's a good place to be.
