Wilderness Walk: Back in Action

Happy Friyay Wilderness!

The Minnesota Wild are back in action tonight! There is more good news as well, the Arizona Coyotes lost 4-2 last night to the Florida Panthers. Today, the Wild are one-point back of the Yotes with both teams having eight games remaining on their schedules, including when the two teams meet on March 31st in Arizona. The bad news is the Colorado Avalanche won last night and leap-frogged both teams into the final wild card spot. Tonight, the Wild need to take care of business against the Cup champs. Minnesota is in Washington D.C. to take on the NHL’s leading goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Puck drop is at 6:00 p.m. C.T.

Friyay Fun Fact: In 1905, a member of the Ottawa Silver Seven tried to drop kick the Stanley Cup across the Rideau Canal. The attempt failed, and the Cup was not retrieved until the next morning. Luckily, the canal was still frozen over.

Taking us through the Walk this morning is Fade Into Darkness, by Avicii.

Wild News

Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Washington
Minnesota's eight-game sprint to the finish line begins Friday night when it plays the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.

Two months after the Wild traded him, Nino Niederreiter isn’t looking back – The Athletic
Set to face the Wild for the first time since the trade to Carolina, Nino Niederreiter opens up about the deal and his new experience.

Gameday preview: Wild at Washington - StarTribune.com
The Wild has an eight-game winless streak against the Capitals dating to 2015, an 0-7-1 stretch.

Wild must continue to play its best against the best - StarTribune.com
With all of its remaining games against teams currently in playoff position – starting with Friday's at Washington – the Wild hope the pattern of playing its best games against the best teams holds.

On Frozen Pond

IOWA DROPS MAGIC NUMBER TO 13 IN 2-0 WIN AGAINST TUCSON | Iowa Wild
Iowa Wild (34-19-7-5; 80 pts.) blanked the Tucson Roadrunners (28-23-5-2; 63 pts.) by a score of 2-0 Wednesday night, dropping the team’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot to 13. Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (24 saves) earned his sixth shutout of the season in the contest, tying Syracuse’s Connor Ingram for most in the AHL.

Minnesota hockey teams have a shot at creating history - Bring Me The News
Three Minnesota schools might have a chance to reach the Frozen Four.

Off the Trail

Avs beat Stars to move into wild card - TSN.ca
DALLAS — Philipp Grubauer made a season-high 44 saves, including 23 in the third period, defencemen Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie scored goals and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Thursday night to make the Western Conference playoff race even tighter.

Shero: Hall talks to open 'well before' July 1 - TSN.ca
The New Jersey Devils aren’t planning to waste any time in opening extension talks with star winger Taylor Hall.

31 Thoughts: Can Maple Leafs' marriage between coach and GM last? - Sportsnet.ca
The Toronto Maple Leafs are slumping on the ice, but what's surprising many is what's happening off it. More in the latest 31 Thoughts.

Coyotes fall into wild-card tie with loss to Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Arizona Coyotes failed to increase their lead in the Western Conference wild-card race, losing 4-2 to the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Thursday.

Pageau suspended one game for actions in Senators game against Canucks
NEW YORK -- Ottawa Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been suspended for one game, without pay, for boarding Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ashton Sautner during NHL Game No. 1134 in Vancouver on Wednesday, March 20, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Dahlin having historically good rookie season for Sabres
Rasmus Dahlin has been outstanding, every bit as good as advertised. Maybe even better.

NHL News & Notes: Timo Meier, J.G. Pageau & More
Timo Meier has been fined $2,000 for embellishment, J.G. Pageau will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety and more.

Down Goes Brown: Breaking down the best and the worst of the 17 nights left on the schedule – The Athletic
With the playoffs right around the corner, there's lots of hockey coming. We have to pace ourselves and not get burned out before it arrives

How Swede it Is: Victor Hedman ecstatic as Lightning, Sabres will play in Stockholm for NHL’s Global Series – The Athletic
Tampa Bay and Buffalo set for Sweden showdown on Nov. 8-9, while Chicago and Philadelphia will play in Czech Republic on Oct. 4.

Kuemper is Coyotes' clear MVP as team inches closer to shocking playoff berth - TheHockeyNews
The strong play of Darcy Kuemper saved the Coyotes' season, but there's still work to be done in the fight to keep Arizona's hopes alive.

OHL's Niagara IceDogs to pay $150,000 fine for violating recruitment rules – but major junior has bigger problems - TheHockeyNews
The OHL has fined the Niagara IceDogs $150,000 and the organization will forfeit a first-round pick in the 2021 draft after reaching a settlement with the league regarding a violation of player recruitment rules.

The Predators aren’t a Stanley Cup frontrunner, but there's no reason to write Nashville off - TheHockeyNews
The Predators have gone from Presidents' Trophy-winning Stanley Cup favorites to an overlooked bunch battling to finish atop the Central Division. That doesn't mean we should overlook Nashville, though, especially with the history of past failures spurring teams to new heights.

Dahlin passes Orr, marking major milestone in 18-year-old Sabres rookie's superb season - TheHockeyNews
Rasmus Dahlin was tabbed as a special prospect, but after overtaking Bobby Orr for second among points by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, it's clear that he has lived up to the hype.

After Vasilevskiy's 54-save victory, a look at best single-game save totals by winning netminders - TheHockeyNews
Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy didn't earn a star for his performance, but the Lightning would have lost Wednesday night if not for his 54-save stunner against the Washington Capitals. It's among the best single-game save totals by a winning goalie in the past 30 years.

Insider Trading: Nicholson regrets Rieder comments - TSN.ca
Edmonton Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson speaking at a breakfast for season ticket holders did not hold back in his assessment of forward Tobias Rieder's play this year.

Pens GM: Gudbranson's 'been very good' - TSN.ca
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford praised the play of trade deadline acquisition Erik Gudbranson on Wednesday.

Stanley Cup Playoff Push: A look at the Dallas Stars since CEO's epic rant - Sportsnet.ca
In today's look at the Stanley Cup playoff picture, we focus in on the dominance of Tampa Bay in the East and how their numbers stack up to past Presidents' Trophy winners, and how the Dallas Stars' best players have performed since CEO Jim Lites called them out in December.

Eugene Melnyk: Key for Senators is to identify 'real fans' - Sportsnet.ca
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk joined Prime Time Sports on Thursday to talk about identifying the Senators' "real fans," and outline his plan for the rebuild.