Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Ottawa

The essentials

The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
ST. PAUL -- On the heels of a three-game road trip that saw the Wild win once, Minnesota returns home to celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness night against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild practiced for the first time in more than a week at TRIA Rink on Monday, as circumstance and travel forced the team to abandon on ice work for much of the past nine days.
Minnesota was scheduled to practice last Wednesday in Seattle, but a couple of COVID-19 cases forced the team to shut down practice before they got on the ice. Scheduled off days in Denver on Friday and at home on Sunday meant the Wild hasn't had an opportunity to clean up some of the issues that caused problems on the recent trip.

"You don't get the touches," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "In the game, morning skate, you just try and get in the flow. Today, we really wanted touches, we wanted pace. We wanted to get our game going again, ignited again, started again."
Systematically, Evason cited the first goal scored by Colorado in a 4-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday night as one where the club's abundance of new faces combined with lack of practice time may have cost the Wild a quality scoring chance against - and as it turned out, a goal, by Gabriel Landeskog.
Forwards Mats Zuccarello and Rem Pitlick remain on the COVID-19 protocol list and Jordan Greenway is on injured reserve, all developments that have happened over the past two games.
That has meant an influx of new faces up front, including Kyle Rau, Adam Beckman and Connor Dewar. Beckman and Dewar made their NHL debuts on the road trip and all three have impressed Evason and teammates with their ability to come in and provide a spark in a tough situation.

But a lack of practice resulted in a systemic breakdown on that Landeskog scoring play in particular. The lack of those "touches" as Evason calls them, and that repetition was a big factor.
With Zuccarello, Pitlick and Greenway out for at least the next couple of games, those touches Monday will hopefully pay off as Minnesota settles into a heavier schedule of games beginning this weekend.
Also on the injury front for the Wild, defenseman Alex Goligoski will be re-evaluated Tuesday morning as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury that has cost him the past two games.
Without Goligoski, Jon Lizotte made his NHL debut last Thursday in Seattle before Calen Addison made his season debut in Colorado.
Addison remains with the team and will play if the Wild chooses to remain cautious with Goligoski's recovery.
For now, getting back on track against a plucky Senators club is job No. 1.
Ottawa will come to St. Paul cranky following a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night at the United Center. The victory was the first this season for the Blackhawks, and came in emphatic fashion, as Patrick Kane returned from COVID-19 protocol that cost him a week of action and tallied a hat trick.
Goaltender Matt Murray made 26 saves on 31 shots in the loss on Monday, meaning Anton Forsberg seems like the likely starter against the Wild. Forsberg is 1-2-0 in three starts (four games) with a 4.82 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.
Offensively, the Sens are led by Drake Batherson's four goals and eight points in eight games. Josh Norris has a team-high five goals. Brady Tkachuk has one goal and three points in five games after a contract dispute cost him the first three games of the campaign.