Minnesota is five points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card from the Western Conference. Colorado has a game in hand, but Minnesota can clinch by defeating Winnipeg and Colorado losing in regulation at home against the St. Louis Blues.
The Wild have lost two games in a row after a six-game winning streak. Captain Mikko Koivu said that he will not be looking beyond playing Winnipeg.
"I think there are a lot of ifs still, so all that we can control is our game and the way we play," Koivu said.
Torchetti reiterated Koivu's approach.
"I think we're just focused on the first period," Torchetti said. "That's the most important part of the game. We're not worrying about [anything] else. I haven't [looked at the out-of-town scoreboard] once. I'm not going to do it again, that's for sure."
Minnesota will not have defenseman Jared Spurgeon and forward Thomas Vanek because of injuries. Torchetti said each player is day-to-day.
Torchetti will also use Charlie Coyle as a center on the second line rather than a first-line right wing to counter some of Winnipeg's size. Goalie Devan Dubnyk will make his 12th consecutive start for the Wild.
Winnipeg will not make any changes to its lineup. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec will start his second game in a row, breaking coach Paul Maurice's recent pattern of alternating his starts with Michael Hutchinson.
"I think in the [past] week-and-a-half, two weeks, [Pavelec's] block of work has been very good, and I think that when you're playing a team like Minnesota with so much [at stake] in this game…I think the Winnipeg Jets have a responsibility to put the guys that are at the top of their games, to put our best lineup in right now," Maurice said.
The Jets finish their home schedule having won six of their past 23 games at MTS Centre (6-14-3). Sitting in last place in the Central Division, they are on a four-game losing streak (0-2-2).
"We know what [Minnesota] is playing for," Jets right wing Blake Wheeler said. "It's exciting to be a part of these types of games for us because they're not as important to us, but we know that the other side, it means a lot to them, so it gives us a lot to play for."
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Jason Zucker - Charlie Coyle - David Jones
Nino Niederreiter - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville
Justin Fontaine - Jarret Stoll - Jordan Schroeder
Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella - Matt Dumba
Mike Reilly - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper
Injured: Jared Spurgeon (lower body), Thomas Vanek (undisclosed)
Scratched: Ryan Carter, Chris Porter, Nate Prosser
JETS
Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Marko Dano - Alexander Burmistrov - Drew Stafford
Chris Thorburn - Adam Lowry - Matt Halischuk
Nic Petan - Andrew Copp - Joel Armia
Ben Chiarot - Dustin Byfuglien
Mark Stuart - Jacob Trouba
Julian Melchiori - Paul Postma
Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson
Injured: Grant Clitsome (back), Toby Enstrom (knee), J.C. Lipon (undisclosed), Bryan Little (neck), Tyler Myers (hip, knee), Anthony Peluso (upper body), Mathieu Perreault (concussion)
Scratched: Brandon Tanev
Status report:Spurgeon will his second straight game. …Tanev has yet to make his NHL debut after signing with Winnipeg last Wednesday.
Who's hot: Parise has a goal and two assists in his past three games. …Wheeler has a seven-game point streak (four goals, six assists). …Scheifele has a six-game point streak (three goals, six assists).
