Samberg excited for first game in home state of Minnesota

WINNIPEG -When the Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday night in Minnesota, one section of Xcel Energy Center might be entirely filled with friends and family of Jets players.
Any visit to their home state is special for players like Blake Wheeler, Dominic Toninato, Neal Pionk, and Nate Schmidt, but this one might be slightly even more so for Dylan Samberg.
He has 26 career NHL games under his belt, but Wednesday will be the first time he suits up as an NHLer in Minnesota.
"I haven't played there since, it would have been college," said Samberg after Tuesday's optional practice. "My junior year of college in the NCHC tournament - that was the last time I played in the Xcel Energy Center. It should be exciting."

He expects somewhere in the "low 40s" when it comes to the amount of tickets he'll be on the hook for, but the 23-year-old doesn't seem to mind.
Most of those people will make the just over two-hour trip from Hermantown to St. Paul on game day, so Samberg says he'll have a quiet night on Tuesday before the big day on Wednesday.

The former University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog didn't grow up going to games, but does recall the first time he watched an NHL game at Xcel Energy Center.
"My first NHL game I ever watched at Xcel Energy Center was when Pionk was playing for the Rangers and it was his first game back," said Samberg. "I went down there for that. That was a cool experience. I played in the state tournament there growing up, throughout college a few times, it's a cool rink, I like playing there, and it's a good atmosphere."
Wednesday's tilt with the Wild will be the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. Like the Jets, the Wild beat the Carolina Hurricanes in their last outing, a game that also required overtime.
Overall, Minnesota is 8-8-2 on the season and 5-4-1 in their last 10.
"They're a good team. The Central is a tough division," said Samberg. "We have to come in and be ready to play physical, hard, and it's an exciting time to be back in Minnesota. I'm looking forward to it."
This road trip will take the Jets from Minnesota, to Dallas, to Chicago, and then back home against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche.
Currently, the Jets are 5-1-0 against the Central Division, and see this stretch of games as an opportunity to improve on that.
"Every game is important, obviously, you want to win. It's something extra when it's a division game," said David Gustafsson. "You know it could be a four point difference if you win that game clean. There is a little spark of energy you get when it's a Central game."

Gustafsson had one assist in the thrilling overtime win over Carolina on Monday night, with his breakaway try creating the rebound that Mikey Eyssimont knocked in for his first NHL goal.
"We were all very happy for him," Gustafsson said. "But especially if it's someone you've known before, played with with the Moose, and we together got up here at the same time, it was fun to see."
As a line, Gustafsson, Eyssimont, and Jansen Harkins outscored their Hurricanes counterparts 1-0, and held the five-on-five shot attempt share by an 8-5 margin (according to Natural Stat Trick).
Gustafsson says confidence has a lot to do with that. Overall, the 22-year-old feels much more confident during this run of time in the NHL, far more so than he has during any of his previous 28 NHL games since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
"I actually try to do something with the puck, make some plays. I feel like in years before I didn't have the confidence to do that," said Gustafsson, who has three points in 17 games this season. "Every game I feel more confident out there. I feel like there is still a lot of stuff that I need to learn, but I feel like I'm getting there."
The Jets will try to carry that confidence onto the plane today and carry it through the three-game trip. The last two trips outside of Winnipeg have been three games in four nights, but with one day between all the games on this three-game trek, it'll be the longest the group has been on the road this season.
"It's a big week coming up," Gustafsson said. "We're all aware of that. We're all excited for this week coming up. Some big games and we're in good shape for it too."
ICE CHIPS
A total of 11 skaters took part in the optional practice at hockey for all centre. Morgan Barron participated in the formal session wearing a non-contact jersey.
Dylan DeMelo and Logan Stanley skated on a separate sheet earlier in the morning.