It's safe to say that in Nathan Beaulieu's opinion, the Wild are most definitely one of the premier clubs around, up front, on the back end, and obviously between the pipes with Dubnyk continuing to shine.
"They're quick on the forecheck. They're hungry and speedy, so as a D-man it was tough. They were coming hard," admitted Beaulieu, who logged a season-high 27:43 of ice time against the Wild. "Not only are they quick, but they're very skilled. They're a powerhouse in the West right now and they're a good hockey team that I'm sure we'll have another good battle with."
While that rematch won't come until January 12 in Minnesota, another important rematch awaits the Canadiens on Friday night in Ohio when they square off against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in their final outing before the Christmas break.
The last time the two squads met back on November 4, John Tortorella's contingent scored 10 goals on 40 shots on Al Montoya in a 10-0 victory in the Buckeye State. Interestingly enough, it will be Montoya who gets the start in goal again. This time around, he'll have a chance to help snap the Blue Jackets' remarkable 11-game winning streak that has them sitting atop the League standings alongside the Chicago Blackhawks with 48 points, two points clear of the fifth-place Canadiens.
"We're not going in as a redemption game, but it's in the back of our minds. We know what we need to do. They're a powerhouse right now," said Beaulieu, well aware of the challenge that awaits the Canadiens on Friday night. "We're confident in ourselves. We're not going to go in and try to redeem anything. We know what happened. We can't let it happen again. We've got to push the pace."