Alexander Shun | @alexpshun
Digital Content Manager | KFAN.com
The homestand last week did not go as well as the Minnesota Wild had hoped, so maybe a return to the road will mean a return to form. Maybe.
The Wild closed a four-game homestand with a 2-2 record, picking up wins against the Coyotes and the Ducks while dropping games to the Devils and the Predators. To make those losses worse, Minnesota blew two goal leads in both of them.
"Obviously if we want to win a championship, it's got to get better. You can't do that," Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said after the Wild blew a two goal lead against the Predators on Sunday to lose 4-2. "It's tough to play with a lead in this league...You've got to go after them and try to increase the lead rather than just hold the lead."
The Wild will look to follow such a formula Tuesday night as they take on the Dallas Stars in what will be their last road game before the All-Star break.
Dallas is a struggling team right now having lost seven of their last ten games including a 4-3 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals last Saturday night and will now play the second of what is six straight home games, during which they could play themselves back into playoff contention.
"You always look at it one game at a time, but I think it is in the back of guys' minds that if we can go on a run, and we know we can. We just have to do it," Stars forward Adam Cracknell said, speaking about Dallas's six game home streak. "To a man, we just have to elevate our game. We know we have it in the room and we just have to do it."
That will be tough tonight given that the Wild currently boast a 12-game point streak on the road and are 2-0-1 against the Stars this season and the Wild are allowing the second-fewest goals per game (2.26 goals allowed per game) and scoring the fourth-most goals per game (3.28 goals per game). That bodes well for the Wild who still sit atop the Western Conference with only two games remaining before the All-Star break and will now take on a Stars team that is allowing the third-most goals per game in the NHL (3.15 goals allowed per game).
"They’re kind of firing on all eights," Stars centerman Cody Eakin said Monday, speaking about the Wild's recent string of play. "We have to match their speed and work ethic and their game from front to back."
The puck drops between the Wild and Stars at 7:30 p.m. CT and can be heard on 100.3 FM KFAN or seen on Fox Sports North.