With health comes confidence as Wild head to Vegas

Minnesota Wild veteran defenseman Jake Middleton is not an excuse-maker Following his club s dramatic come-from-behind - overtime win in the regular season finale without which they would be playoff spectators rather than playoff participants Middleton took a good humored approach to the fact that he was on the ice for both of Anaheim s goals and the two late goals by his teammates spared Middleton any kind of scapegoat label Forever grateful for those six guys that were on the ice with seconds left he explained with a broad grin When the subject turned to the looming playoff series with Vegas which beat Minnesota all three times they met in the regular season Middleton pointed out that all three matches were the second night of back-to-back games for the Wild But those who follow all games know that the schedule was less of a factor than the injury account for Minnesota most of of - Tuesday s meeting versus the Ducks was just the th time in those games that Wild coach John Hynes has had a full healthy roster from which to fill out his line chart Prior to the clean bill of robustness on April the last time Hynes had been offered all hands on deck was a Nov contest at Chicago when for sure a scarce young Wild fans were still picking through the last of their Halloween candy While nothing is beyond the realm of possibility in this season where specific players have gotten to know the training staff better than they know their linemates barring a fluke injury in practice over the next two days Hynes will have a full array of healthy bodies at his disposal for Challenge on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena Majority notably that includes forwards Joel Eriksson Ek who played in of regular season games and forward Kirill Kaprizov who missed exactly half of the regular season after a start which had the talented Russian legitimately in the conversation for the Hart Trophy given to the NHL s majority valuable contestant I think that s a benefit ostensibly for Ekky and Kirill that they were off for a long period of time Hynes mentioned on Friday afternoon meeting with reporters at the airport before the band boarded its Nevada-bound charter plane Now that time isn t easy They had their own issues that they had to deal with But I think the rigors of the season and the miles you put on as you go through games hopefully that can help those guys in the series when it gets rocking While its easy to forget just how daunting the injuries were to the club s nightly lineup on the way to a - - record good for points a glance at the game-by-game reports of who was in and who was out show that just a small handful of players went all games without an injury-related absence The particular quartet includes defenseman Jon Merrill and forwards Matt Boldy Marco Rossi and Freddy Gaudreau Another forward Gustav Nyquist played in every competition for the Wild after March when he was acquired at the commerce deadline from Nashville Thus mood swings from early December when Minnesota had the league s best record to late March when it appeared the playoffs could slip from their grasp have been both exhilarating and exhausting All games this year you guys went through it with us right It was up and down like crazy disclosed Middleton who also missed time including four games in April with an upper-body injury There was times we thought the world was ending There was times we thought that we d already won the league You guys lived through it with us I m sure you re feeling the same things we are We ve got a lot of fight in this room and that s kind of what it s been all year So the Wild will face the Golden Knights on Sunday without having to face a different opponent in a different rink the night before And they will have everyone at their disposal which is sure to throw a new wrinkle or two at Vegas as they scout their guests from the State of Hockey No excuses The Wild were - versus Vegas in the regular season which is one reason the odds-makers generally think a Minnesota appearance in Round of the playoffs is a longshot But with a healthy lineup in April there are at least specific optimists who see a way Minnesota could beat Vegas four times between now and early May We re back right Like we re good We re confident Middleton commented Especially this time of year Anything can happen Related Articles Buium seems to be inching closer to his NHL debut Wild bring pre-loaded playoff mettle to Vegas Wild Fleury s dramatic final win surprised even him and his coach High drama at the X as Eriksson Ek s late goal puts Wild in playoffs Wild coach John Hynes Now is not the time for Zeev Buium s NHL debut