From the Rink: Hockey Day excitement tempered by task at hand

ST. PAUL -- Some of the first words out of Wild defenseman Nate Prosser's mouth as he stepped on the ice for morning skate Saturday were "happy Hockey Day." Matt Cullen couldn't wait to get home to his sons and watch both his alma maters lace them up in St. Cloud. And even on the day of a potentially perilous proposition against Tampa Bay, Bruce Boudreau paused to reflect on what he's learned about a state that has a quasi-holiday dedicated to his profession.

"It reminds me of being home," the Toronto native and Wild coach said after his club's optional skate. "It's amazing to see among all the football fury and euphoria that's going on around here (with the Vikings' NFC championship appearance looming Sunday) that we can take a day out and say, 'this is Hockey Day.'
"To see the rinks every time I drive home, whether it be on the lakes or in the backyards, it's phenomenal. It reminds me of growing up."
The Wild is 8-2-1 all-time on Hockey Day. It's a day that memorable State of Hockey narratives often evolve within the walls of Xcel Energy Center while amateur games take place at other locales --
Kyle Rau's potential Wild debut
this year, three goals in 2 minutes to clinch last year's matchup, Prosser's 2014 overtime winner as Hockey Day was celebrated in his home town of Elk River.
"You wake up, turn FOX Sports [North] on ... it's a fun day," Prosser said. "You go out for warmups, and you know it's a special day. You've got a little more jump."
Yet the pageantry and celebration of hockey in its purest, most natural setting is tempered with the task at hand at 8 p.m. Saturday at Xcel Energy Center: come off a five-day break sharp enough to best the top team in the NHL standings, one that came off its own bye sluggish two nights ago.

The Lightning lead the League with 65 points but have given up 21 goals in their past five games, going 2-3 during that stretch. That was enough to prompt a closed-door meeting among players after Thursday night's loss to Vegas. Minnesota, meanwhile, sat idle while Central Division teams went 8-0-1 during the past week. The Wild is one of four teams with 53 points currently vying for the standings' final Wild Card spot.
"We know what they bring -- high-speed, high-skilled team," Prosser said of Tampa, which features two of the NHL's top seven scorers in Nikita Kucherov (No. 1) and Steven Stamkos (tied for seventh). "We've got to make sure that we're bringing our game."
That requires balance and using the emotion of the day -- including that of the home crowd -- advantageously. Prosser said he'd go home and flip on FOX Sports North this afternoon before getting into game mode. Cullen, who played for Moorhead and St. Cloud State -- which play back-to-back games in St. Cloud on Saturday afternoon -- had similar plans.
"I think we all enjoy it," Cullen said of Hockey Day. "We all remember our roots, where we started the game of hockey. Today's a great reminder of that and a great way to celebrate where we all came from."

And it won't be lost on his wife, Bridget, or his three sons Brooks, Wyatt and Joey.
"We love being out on the outdoor rink, and they love Hockey Day]," said the Virginia native. "It's fun for them to see up close the Spuds play and St. Cloud State get to be a part of this, because it's such a unique experience. In Minnesota, the love of hockey is just so special. It's unlike anything I've ever seen."
Here are Saturday night's projected lineups:
**WILD**
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Daniel Winnik - Eric Staal - Zach Parise
Kyle Rau - Charlie Coyle - Joel Eriksson Ek
Marcus Foligno - Matt Cullen - Tyler Ennis
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Gustav Olofsson - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
LIGHTNING
Vladislav Namestnikov - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn - Yanni Gourde - Cory Conacher
Chris Kunitz - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan
Slater Koekkoek - Anton Stralman
Mikhail Sergachev - Dan Girardi
Braydon Corbun - Jake Dotchin
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Related:
- [Watch: Wild comments after morning skate - Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay - Wild has work cut out for it after bye - Wild recalls forward Kyle Rau