From the Rink: Read preps for big chance with Wild in Dallas

DALLAS -- Matt Read knew he'd be playing hockey in Texas tonight. Little did he know, he'd be in Dallas and not Austin.
Practicing with the Iowa Wild on Wednesday, Read was preparing for Friday and Saturday games down the road in the Texas capital. But after practice on Wednesday, Iowa coach Tim Army called over the veteran winger and told him he was on his way to Minnesota.
But Read's presence on the roster -- at least initially -- is far from being a place holder. Read is expected to begin the game on the right side of Jason Zucker and Eric Staal on the Wild's top line.

"I'm playing with two talented goal-scorers. My first thought is to be a forechecker and get them the puck and let them make plays. Just keep my game simple and work hard and let their talent shine," Read said. "I'm excited for the opportunity. Hopefully we can mesh well right off the bat and have fun out there."

Read has experience playing with skilled linemates in the past. In Philadelphia, Read spent some time with the likes of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.
"When you're playing with talented guys, you've gotta get them the puck," Read said. "You gotta go create offense, [whether] it's by forechecking or just making the right play, let them play with speed and obviously, they're talented enough to make plays out there, so you just have to find the openings and support them as much as you can."
Read's right-handed shot will bring a different dynamic to the Staal-Zucker line, which has mostly had lefties Mikael Granlund and Jordan Greenway playing on their off-hand side.
"It'll be a little bit different. Hopefully it will make us a little bit cleaner coming out of our end and even into their end as far as entering and exiting out of our zone," Staal said. "I think for me, being a center and being a lefty and him being a righty, it's a little bit more beneficial as far as puck movement. It makes things a little bit easier and hopefully will open some more lanes for us."

Read, a former Bemidji State University star, signed with the Wild at the end of July after spending the past seven seasons with the Flyers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He twice surpassed 20 goals in Philadelphia, but saw his role decrease over the past couple of seasons.
Read played just 19 games with the big club last season, the final year of a four-year, $14.5 million contract extension he signed with the Flyers in 2013.
An offseason resident of Minnesota since his days at BSU, Read didn't go far in search of a new beginning. Friday night, he'll get it.
"I thought this was a team that I could help. I was just looking for an opportunity, and I'm very excited to be up here right now and I want to make sure I can stick up here as long as I can," Read said. "It could be one game. It could be the rest of the season. You don't know. You just have to go and fight."
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Matt Read
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter - Charlie Coyle - Jordan Greenway
Marcus Foligno - Eric Fehr - JT Brown
Ryan Suter - Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin - Jared Spurgeon
Nick Seeler - Greg Pateryn
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
STARS
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Roope Hintz
Devin Shore - Jason Spezza - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau
Gemel Smith - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Marc Methot - Miro Heiskanen
Julius Honka - Roman Polak
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Related:
Read ready to seize new opportunity in Minnesota