Wild vs Hurricanes: Game Preview and Line Combinations
The Minnesota Wild (5-6-3) will face the Carolina Hurricanes (8-4-0) tonight on the road, marking the first half of a back-to-back series. The Wild will make only one lineup change as defenseman Daemon Hunt makes his season debut.
Defense and Line Changes
Daemon Hunt joins the third defensive pairing alongside Zeev Buium. Although Hunt is playing on his offside and the team has the last line change advantage on the road, it will be interesting to see how this pairing performs. David Jiricek, who has no points in ten games and a minus-3 rating, will be scratched to make room for Hunt.
Forward Lines and Healthy Scratch
The Wild will keep their fourth line unchanged, meaning Danila Yurov will sit out for the third straight game as a healthy scratch. Yurov played in one of the first two games, scoring his first NHL goal while centering the third line in New York. Despite him being scratched for the last two games, the Wild won both, and they are unbeaten (3-0-0) in the three games played by the line of Ben Jones, Yakov Trenin, and Tyler Pitlick.
Danila Yurov being scratched for three consecutive games is a development worth monitoring.
Probable Return and Projected Lines
Mats Zuccarello is expected to return for Saturday's game. The projected forward lines for the Wild tonight are:
- Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Marcus Johansson
- Vladimir Tarasenko – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
- Marcus Foligno – Ryan Hartman – Vinnie Hinostroza
The defensive pairs include the newly adjusted pair featuring Daemon Hunt and Zeev Buium on the third pairing.
Summary: The Wild are making a key defensive debut and maintaining a winning line combination while keeping an eye on the future of young forward Danila Yurov, who remains sidelined despite past contributions.
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