With its backs against the wall and in need of a victory, the Wild will make a couple of tweaks to its lineup.
With Zach Parise out with a fractured sternum sustained in Game 3, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau will have to decide between Tyler Ennis, who played in Game 4, and either Kyle Rau or Kurtis Gabriel, two players recently recalled from Iowa who practiced with Minnesota on Thursday before the club flew north.
On defense, Ryan Murphy will enter the lineup for the first time this series and will play in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game.
Murphy will play on the Wild's third defensive pairing with Nate Prosser, as Boudreau hopes Murphy can provide the Wild with an extra boost offensively. Murphy also gives Minnesota an added element on its power play.
"We just thought that we didn't score any goals last game and (Murphy's) a really good puck mover," Boudreau said. "We really like what Soucy has] done, and he's gonna be a really good player for us, but ... there's more experience in [Murphy]."
The Jets will be without defenseman Josh Morrissey, who was
[suspended for Game 5
following an
illegal check to the side of the neck
of Wild forward Eric Staal.
Morrissey's absence is one of many on the back line for the Jets, who are also without Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov. Another defenseman, Tyler Myers, has been out since sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 3. Myers is questionable for Friday's game.
The Wild will attempt to become the 29th team in NHL history to come back and win a series after trailing by a 3-1 margin. Minnesota
did it twice in 2003
, rallying from 3-1 down against both Colorado and Vancouver, becoming the first (and only) team to accomplish the feat twice in the same postseason.
