The Minnesota Wild were one of the popular teams to pick heading into the 2013 season due to their free agent signings, but things have not started off as well as the team would like.
Minnesota has been winless away from home this season, but they return to the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night to take on the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild are 4-4-1 on the season, with three wins coming on their home ice.
The team is playing seven of the next nine games against Northwest Division teams and with 20 percent of the season already behind them, coach Mike Yeo knows it's put or shut up time.
Yeo shook things up on the main lines for the team, sending Dany Heatley off the first line with Charlie Coyle replacing him. The first-year player joins center Mikko Koivu and star Zach Parise in what Yeo hopes will be a prime scoring line for Minnesota.
"I wouldn't say it was unexpected," said Heatley, who has no points in his past four games after tallying four goals and two assists in the first five. "I'm playing with two real creative guys, so hopefully we can get something going."
Minnesota was one of the popular picks before the season after signing Parise and Ryan Suter as free agents. So far the team hasn't been that successful, but Parise has made his mark, leading the team in points and scoring with 10 points and six goals. Mikko Koivu is tops in assists.
The team wasn't done dealing though, even when the season was still going on. The Wild acquired Mike Rupp from the Rangers earlier this week and he will make his debut for Minnesota against the Canucks.
"I'm just a complementary guy. There are a lot of good things going here," Rupp said. "This team is headed in the right direction. I'm excited to be a part of it and contribute in any way. Obviously, my game is to play physical. I'm going to try to come in here and help this team win hockey games any way I can."
The expectations are high for the Wild this season, especially from owner Craig Leipold to general manager Chuck Fletcher, who made the deals for Parise and Suter.
"Normally we've played nine games and you have more time to sort things out, but you don't have as much time," Yeo said. "So certainly it magnifies things. We just have to make sure that we're doing whatever we can to find the best mix to put the best product on the ice."
The Wild have been one of the most disappointing offensive teams in the league, scoring just 21 goals this season, averaging 2.2 per game, ranked 25th in the league. The power play has been weak as well, ranking 21st. The penalty kill has been solid, ranking 12th with an 82.8 percentage, but the team needs to play better on special teams.
The Canucks started off the season slow, but have won the past three games to improve to 5-2-2. Goalie Roberto Luongo, who has been the subject of trade talks since the season began, was in net for all three games, although starter Cory Schnieder is expected to be in between the pipes on Thursday.
"I'm really excited," Schneider said. "Lu's done his job, and now it's my turn to jump in and try to keep that going. You never want to be the guy that halts the momentum."
The Canucks are ranked 18th in goals per game, but have been excellent in goal, allowing 2.2 scores per game, ranked seventh in the league. Vancouver needs to improve their special teams as well, as they rank 20th in the league in both power play and penalty kill percentage.
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