The Minnesota Wild debuted a new on-ice projection system before Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Blackhawks. The Wild used it to show video highlights, spell out inspiring words, display a giant Stanley Cup, and create crazy visuals you don’t normally see on a rink. It looks great too, and you can bet Wild fans will see it during tonight’s Game 4.
KFAN uploaded an excellent video of the show.
It’s reminiscent of the crazy multimillion dollar, state-of-the-art projection system behind the Sochi Olympic opening ceremony. The Halifax Mooseheads (of the Quebec League) have an on-ice light and video projection show similar to the Wild, but take it even a step further by making some of the images look almost 3-D. Read about it here.
[vimeo 91408788 w=”480″ h=”270″]
As for more random Wild news not related to the games, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune figured out why the Wild players call Mikael Granlund “Bruce” (which you can hear at the end of this postgame celebration video). It’s a pretty funny story and worth the read. Here’s a hint: It has to do with where Zach Parise used to play, and a misunderstanding on Granlund’s part.
For relevant Wild news, Matt Moulson is expected to miss game four Friday night due to a lower body injury. Wild head coach Mike Yeo said it’s something Moulson has been dealing with for awhile. The Star Tribune reported Moulson will be kept off the ice at least for a few days.
“Not skating yesterday, keeping him off the ice today will hopefully give him a chance to get better,” Yeo said. “Hopefully we can use this as an opportunity to get him back.”
The Wild were expecting to have Matt Cooke back for Friday night’s game anyway after his suspension came to an end. He’ll likely take Moulson’s spot on the third line next to Erik Haula and Justin Fontaine. No other lineup changes are expected for the Wild in Game 4.
