From the Rink: Wild seeks to bring road success back to St. Paul

ST. PAUL -- After a week in California, the Wild will try and bring momentum gained on the road back to Minnesota on Tuesday when it plays the Calgary Flames at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild won the final two games of the trip west -- both in overtime -- answering the bell when it needed to.
After losing a third-period lead against the Los Angeles Kings in the trip lid-lifter last Tuesday, a game the Wild eventually lost 5-2, Minnesota was able to extend games to overtime in each of the final two, winning on a Matt Dumba goal in Anaheim and one by Nino Niederreiter in San Jose.

While the Wild doesn't want to get into the habit of losing third-period leads, players said they were pleased with the team's response to adversity against the Ducks and Sharks, especially after watching negativity snowball versus the Kings.

"I thought, except for the third period in L.A., I thought that we played good hockey in some tough buildings against some very good hockey teams," said Wild captain Mikko Koivu. "It was a good trip overall and obviously we need to play better towards the end, that's what you always want, but feeling good coming home and that's a good thing."
The trick now will be building on its winning trip.
After a 3-3-1 start on home ice this season -- a locale that's been ultra-friendly to the Wild over the years -- Minnesota has posted a 5-0-1 record in its past six in downtown St. Paul.
"I don't know, I think every team loves home cookin'," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "You get the last change and sometimes that helps. I think players play better at home for the most part."
After a week away, Boudreau said he has preached avoiding a flat start tonight against a Flames team that has won its past two games.
Sometimes after a lengthy trip, it takes a team a period to get its legs going back on home ice. Boudreau said that's not something the Wild can afford to do.
"I've mentioned it three times already. I'll mention it twice again before the game starts," Boudreau said. "All we can do is make them aware and hope they come to play."
The game Tuesday begins a busy stretch of games for Minnesota, which plays three Canadian teams in St. Paul between now and Saturday before heading to Chicago for a game Sunday, one that begins a four-game road sprint before Christmas.
That makes these games at Xcel Energy Center even more important, as the Wild hopes to keep up with and pass opponents in a tightly packed Western Conference.
"Every team, I think, knows the importance of it way earlier than before Christmas," Boudreau said. "To me we're playing a divisional game basically. That's why they're more important."
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Nino Niederreiter - Eric Staal - Mikael Granlund
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Daniel Winnik - Joel Eriksson Ek - Chris Stewart
Marcus Foligno - Matt Cullen - Zack Mitchell
Ryan Suter - Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin - Ryan Murphy
Gustav Olofsson - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
FLAMES
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway
Troy Brouwer - Matt Stajan - Curtis Lazar
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
David Rittich