Minnesota Wild Prepare To Take On Jets In Preseason Home Opener – Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

Tonight's preseason home opener against the Winnipeg Jets will headline the Minnesota Wild. Marc-André Fleury is expected to play 60 minutes in his first preseason game. Tonight's game will once again feature Minnesota's top players up front and back, while also featuring the team's top prospects. (Today's lineup vs. Jets)

Despite wearing only a few NHL, the Wild beat the Jets six days ago in Winnipeg, 5-2.

Top Wild Players to Play

On Friday night, four Wild players will play, with Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman making their preseason debuts; we can expect to see others experiment with line combinations as the team discovers who fits whom. Expect a top line with Hartman every game, but head coach John Hynes may want to see how Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov look with Kaprizov and Zuccarello.

Related: John Hynes Wants Big Change in Training Camp

The Wild had no energy in the first two games. There is hope for more veterans entering the lineup, and with Winnipeg being the Wild's biggest rival, the intensity will only increase. Ben Jones and Sammy Walker will be keen to impress, as both outsiders look inside and are likely to be cut.

Today's Forward List:

Here are the current front lines for today's morning circuit.

• Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
• Liam Ohgren – Joel Eriksson Ek – Yakov Trenin
• Ben Jones – Marat Khusnutdinov – Riley Heidt
• Hunter Haight – Caedan Bankier – Sammy Walker

Brock Faber Headlines Defense

Sophomore sensation Brock Faber will lead the blue line tonight. While Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin were sidelined for most of last season, the Maple Grove native Faber became the team's top defender. He will be joined by his regular partner, veteran tight end Jacob Middleton. Daemon Hunt, Jack Peart, Carson Lambos, and Kyle Masters will round out the defense.

Lambos and Hunt are vying for the eighth defensive spot on the team. Even though they have an outside chance of making the team, they will want to leave you out on the ice. Lambos and Hunt are both Western Hockey League standards and will be a top pairing American Hockey League this season with the Iowa Wild.

Fleury Starts Tonight

All three goaltenders in Fleury, Jesper Wallstedt, and Filip Gustavsson should get two goals apiece during the Wild's six preseason games. Fleury will start tonight, while Wallstedt was good in the opener against Winnipeg, and Gustavsson was good against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Fleury and Gustavsson will be on the team's opening night roster, so the big question is whether Wallstedt makes the team. Tonight's substitute is Samuel Hlavaj, goalkeeper from Slovakia coming to North America to play with AHL Iowa.

Jets Lineup

The Jets' top guns in Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey, and Adam Lowry stayed home for the contest. However, some familiar names will be on the ice, such as Wild defenseman Mason Shaw, who hopes to lead the Jets out of training camp.

It won't take much to get things going tonight as both teams have a hot history. In the past years, the star Kaprizov has been closely watched by the Jets and has been injured in previous games against them.

Matt Boldy is still sidelined

Matt Boldy is still considered week-to-week with a lower body injury. Hynes expects Boldy to be ready by the end of training camp, and he should be on the ice a week starting tonight in the final preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He was second on the team in scoring last season with 69 points, and his importance cannot be underestimated. The management should not rush him to return if he is not ready to play next week.

Tonight's two points won't matter in any standing, but more than half of the players in both lines. tonight may be the last time they can please their coach or general manager. Rumor has it that both of these teams will be down at the weekend.