Wild vs Hurricanes: Game Preview and Line Combinations
Tonight, the Minnesota Wild (5-6-3) face the Carolina Hurricanes (8-4-0) on the road in the first game of a back-to-back series. The Wild will debut defenseman Daemon Hunt, who joins the third defensive pairing alongside Zeev Buium.
Hunt, 23, has not played an NHL game since October. His inclusion results in David Jiricek being scratched; Jiricek has no points in ten games and a minus-3 rating. Hunt will play on his offside, and it will be interesting to see how the Wild utilize that pairing with the last line change advantage on the road.
The Wild’s fourth line remains unchanged: Ben Jones, Yakov Trenin, and Tyler Pitlick have played together for three games, during which the Wild hold a perfect 3-0-0 record. That means Danila Yurov will sit as a healthy scratch for the third straight game. Yurov scored his first NHL goal during one of his few appearances earlier this season, but has been scratched in the two most recent wins for Minnesota.
Mats Zuccarello is expected to return for Saturday’s game.
Minnesota Wild Line Combinations
- Kirill Kaprizov - Marco Rossi - Marcus Johansson
- Vladimir Tarasenko - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy
- Marcus Foligno - Ryan Hartman - Vinnie Hinostroza
"Daemon Hunt will make his season debut on the third defense pair with Zeev Buium. It will be interesting to see how the Wild use that pair considering it is on the road, so last line change, and Hunt is playing on his offside."
"Danila Yurov will sit for the third consecutive game as a healthy scratch."
Author's summary: Daemon Hunt returns to the lineup for the Wild, while promising forward Danila Yurov remains benched for a third straight game, reflecting Minnesota's evolving roster strategy.