Practice time! #mnwild pic.twitter.com/ekzezYBEU3
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 17, 2015
The Minnesota Wild were back at practice Friday in St. Louis, hours after they beat the Blues 4-2 to take Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
The Wild held an optional practice, but most members of the squad suited up to skate.
With his team leading the series 1-0 and now holding the home ice advantage, Wild coach Mike Yeo doesn’t plan to change a lot before Saturday afternoon’s Game 2.
Yeo says he doesn't see a reason to make any lineup changes for tomorrow. #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 17, 2015
It’s the first time Minnesota has ever been up in a playoff series in Yeo’s time as Minnesota’s head coach. The Wild trailed the entire 2013 series against Chicago, never led last year’s Colorado series until they won Game 7 and never led last year’s second round series against the Blackhawks.
“It shouldn’t be hard to stay hungry,” Yeo told reporters on Friday. “If anything it should fuel it a little bit more. I think we still recognize the tough challenge we have ahead of us. We got the first game. That’s great. But there’s an awful lot of work to be done still.”
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It didn’t take the Wild long to take the lead in the series – just a little under three minutes thanks to this great effort from Jason Zucker.
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That put Minnesota on top 1-0, it was a lead the Wild would never relinquish.
So St. Louis knows things have to change on Saturday as a Wild victory would put Minnesota on top 2-0 as the series shifts back to St. Paul, meaning the Blues need to bounce back.
Allen on Game 2: "We know the atmosphere, we know what’s at stake. It's a chance in front of our home fans to get the series tied up."
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 17, 2015
Like Yeo, St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock isn’t expected to make any lineup changes, but that doesn’t mean the Wild aren’t expecting a better effort from the Blues.
“They’re definitely not happy with their game,” said Wild forward Charlie Coyle to the Star Tribune. “They obviously have more and we feel we have more too. You can never be complacent. We won. Put it behind us and stay levelheaded here. Bring that physicality back and it’s going to wear them down.”
Face off for Game 2, is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
