From the Rink: Ek likely in, Parise questionable for Wild in Vegas

Good day from the beautiful T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which will be undoubtedly rocking tonight when the Wild and Vegas Golden Knights tangle on its ice, just steps from the Las Vegas Strip.
While out and about in town last night, there were plenty of Wild hats and t-shirts out in full force, so expect a solid showing once again from the State of Hockey.
Wild fans that have made the journey to Nevada could get their eyes on the return of forward Zach Parise, who has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury, as well as Joel Eriksson Ek, who has also been out with a lower-body ailment.

Of the two, Eriksson Ek is the most likely to scratch back in. He was one of the first ones off the ice this morning and sounded like a guy ready to play for the first time since March 11.
"It's never fun to be on the side and be out with an injury," Eriksson Ek said. "It's gonna be fun to play."
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said Parise is a game-time decision, but Parise was one of the last players off the ice, typically an indicator that he could be scratched. If Parise doesn't play, Matt Read will remain in the lineup.
One thing is certain though; Parise does appear to be getting closer. After skating on his own on Wednesday, Parise practiced with the team in Minnesota before the flight to Las Vegas on Thursday and was on the ice putting in work this morning.
If Arizona is able to defeat Colorado in regulation tonight in Glendale, and the Wild is successful against the Golden Knights, the three teams would be separated by just two points in the standings with four games remaining.
Minnesota could also have a regulation/overtime wins advantage if it were to win before a shootout.
If that's the case, Parise could be a definite possibility on Sunday when MInnesota plays Arizona in what could be a pseudo-elimination game.
But that's putting the cart before the horse. The Wild is focused on the task at hand tonight and doing what it can to get two points.
"I just told [the team] this morning, that if I have to tell you anything, I've got the wrong guys playing tonight," Boudreau said. "This is hockey, they know where we stand, what the situation is and the self preparation going into today's game ... if I have to sit there in a morning talk and get you up for the game? We're beat before we start. So I hope they're ready to go."
The Wild skated at T-Mobile Arena today. Here is what it looked like:

In case you missed it

Here is today's
Wild Warmup
Former Golden Knight Brad Hunt returns to Las Vegas for the first time since he was traded to the Wild back in January... when the team was right here in Vegas. He's also a new dad. Wild.com caught up with him
yesterday back in Minnesota
Wild defenseman Ryan Suter was nominated for the
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Ryan Donato posted the 10,000th point in franchise history last week in Washington, getting the first assist on Jordan Greenway's beauty of a goal. That got me thinking ... what about the first point in team history? So I
caught up with two of the players
who had a hand in it in a fun feature earlier this week

Speaking of Donato, he and fellow newcomer Kevin Fiala took part in a Minnesota-themed spelling bee with Wild TV's Ryan Carter in the latest edition of Only in Minnesota

Three-year-old Wild fan Thomas was born without a trachea, but that didn't stop him from wanting to meet his favorite hockey team. The fine folks at Make-A-Wish and the Wild Foundation made sure that happened

Here is the projected lineup for the Wild tonight in Las Vegas:
Kevin Fiala - Eric Staal - Jason Zucker
Jordan Greenway - Joel Eriksson Ek - Luke Kunin
Ryan Donato - Victor Rask - Matt Read
Marcus Foligno - Eric Fehr - JT Brown
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Brad Hunt
Nick Seeler - Greg Pateryn
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Vegas begins the day Friday five points back of San Jose for second place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks and Golden Knights are a likely first-round matchup in the playoffs, with home ice in the series the only thing up for grabs.
Four Golden Knights have surpassed 50 points this season, with Jonathan Marchessault leading the way with 24 goals and 56 points. William Karlsson has 23 goals and 53 points while Reilly Smith leads the club with 33 assists among 52 points.
Malcolm Subban has filled in recently for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury and has a 7-9-1 record in 18 games (17 starts) with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Here is what Vegas could look like on Friday:
Jonathan Marchessault - William Karlsson - Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty - Paul Stastny - Mark Stone
Tomas Nosek - Cody Eakin - Alex Tuch
Ryan Carpenter - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan Reaves
Nate Schmidt - Deryk Engelland
Brayden McNabb - Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill - Colin Miller
Malcolm Subban
Maxime Legace
Watching/listening to tonight's game:
- The contest will be televised on FOX Sports North PLUS - It can be streamed live via the FOX Sports App - It can be heard on KFAN 100.3 FM, the Wild Radio Network or via the Wild NHL App