Wilderness Walk: Break in the Action

Happy Friyay Wild Fans!

The Wild have another day off today, but good news is on the distant horizon. The Wild are back in action tomorrow when they head to St. Louis to face-off against their Central Division foe.

Friyay Fun Fact: While it has started to become a trend in other professional sports, such as the NBA, the number 0 has only been worn by one player in NHL history. The man bold enough to rock the number 0 on his sweater was former Hartford Whaler and International Falls, Minnesota native Neil Sheehy.

Taking us through today’s Walk is Raincoat by Timeflies.

Wild News

Super 16: Wild crack top 10
The Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning are the top two teams in NHL.com's Super 16 power rankings for the second consecutive week. The Minnesota Wild move up 5 spots and crack the Top 10 for the first time this season.

The struggles of Nino Niederreiter and Tuesday’s glimpse of what could be – The Athletic
Still goalless on the season, Nino Niederreiter needs to give the Wild more production. A promising effort Tuesday was a good start.

Wild Walkthrough: Visualizing Minnesota’s success with shot quality – The Athletic
The Wild don't rack up the shot attempts, but the ones they take — and the ones they give up — point to a formula that can work.

With Foligno and Fehr, Wild is not caught shorthanded - StarTribune.com
NHL Insider: Marcus Foligno and Eric Fehr have become the team’s top penalty killers.

VIDEO: Becoming Wild: Joel Eriksson Ek | NHL.com
Becoming Wild presented by Toyota: A day in the life of Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek

ICYMI: Minnesota Wild reassigns forward Matt Read to Iowa
Minnesota Wild General Manager Paul Fenton today announced the NHL club has reassigned forward Matt Read to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL).

On Frozen Pond

VIDEO: Minnesota Wild Launch Blind Hockey League « WCCO | CBS Minnesota
The Twin Cities has a new hockey team. Minnesota Hockey and the Minnesota Wild launched a program for the blind last month.

Former captain Jim Archibald to return for "One More Shift" - North Dakota Athletics
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota hockey team will welcome back one of its former captains and most revered players in program history on Friday, Nov. 2 when Jim Archibald takes the ice during the introduction of starting lineups against the University of Wisconsin.

'U' Takes on Minnesota State in Home-and-Home Series - University of Minnesota Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 8/10 Gopher Hockey program returns to action this weekend with a home-and-home series with No. 4 Minnesota State. The two in-state rivals open the series on Friday, Nov. 2 at 3M Arena at Mariucci before traveling to Mankato on Saturday, Nov. 3 for the series finale. Both games are set for 7 p.m. CT.

Off the Trail

VIDEO: Insider Trading: Could Bobrovsky be dealt before the deadline? - TSN.ca
TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger joined host James Duthie to discuss the latest with Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets, Slava Voynov, Steve Mason, and Nikita Scherbak.

Nylander tops first TSN Trade Bait board of the season - TSN.ca
We are now inside a month to Decision Day for William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Dec. 1 deadline to sign or sit out the season fast approaches...

31 Thoughts: The hidden benefits of NHL’s big gambling bet - Sportsnet.ca
Along with the NHL’s move towards gambling comes a renewed focus on data, which has real value for the league. More in the 31 Thoughts.

Orr would be 'surprised' if there isn't another lockout - TSN.ca
Bobby Orr doesn't like the look of the NHL labour clouds forming on the horizon. In fact, the Hall of Fame defenceman says he fully expects another lockout in the not-too-distant future.

Boyle, Anderson wives bond over Hockey Fights Cancer mission
There was no torch. There was no physical passing of anything. But as Nicholle Anderson and Lauren Boyle chatted, as they talked through bits of their stories, their journeys, the years of medications and tests and scans and scares, it was evident that they shared something.

NHL - Power Rankings after Week 4 - Players who need to step up for all 31 teams
There were many risers and fallers this week in our rundown of all 31 teams. Plus, a player for every club who must get on track soon.

Aho, Hurricanes working on long-term contract: report
Sebastian Aho is hoping to sign a long-term contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, and general manager Don Waddell is confident that will happen before the end of the season, The News & Observer reported.

31 Stats: The Ducks’ early-season woes, Vegas’ bad luck and appreciation for Dougie Hamilton – The Athletic
A look at some early season trends and alarming numbers from around the league.

LeBrun: Teammates keeping in touch but also their distance with absent William Nylander – The Athletic
The NHL hasn't seen a contract dispute last this long in many, many years, and while William Nylander's teammates miss their brother, everyone understands that this is part of the business.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have another bonafide star on their hands - TheHockeyNews
If Brayden Point's sophomore season was considered his breakout season, it might be wise to start brainstorming some new superlatives for the Lightning pivot. He's a star on the rise in Tampa Bay.

Big-name blueliners are having their ice time recalibrated - TSN.ca
Lost in the awful news that Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman could miss significant time due to an upper-body injury was the fact that he is on pace to play the lowest minute totals of his career.

Is Max Domi emerging as a bonafide second-line centre? - Sportsnet.ca
Max Domi is off to a great start with the Canadiens, posting numbers that would set new career highs. But can he sustain this level of production? Andrew Berkshire drills into the numbers to find out some promising developments.

Laine hat trick for Jets steals show from Selanne in Finland
The sight of Teemu Selanne on the ice with Patrik Laine and Aleksander Barkov would probably have been enough for most of the 13,490 fans at Hartwall Arena attending the 2018 NHL Global Series game between the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Voynov applies for reinstatement, NHL conducting “intense factual investigation” - TheHockeyNews
Slava Voynov has applied for reinstatement to the NHL. The former Los Angeles Kings defenseman was suspended indefinitely by the NHL in October 2014 as the result of a domestic violence charge and has spent the past three seasons in the KHL.

Looking at the NHL's five most expensive forward lines - Sportsnet.ca
The NHL is more and more becoming about loading up your first line with productive stars and riding the horses. But the most expensive lines aren't always the best ones.