Wild reunite Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Boldy and tweak power play ahead of road trip

Wild make changes for Blackhawks game

Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Boldy reunited on top line

The Wild have been struggling lately, losing four of their last five games. In an effort to turn things around, coach Dean Evason is reuniting the top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy. “We need to get our top players going,” Evason said. “We need them to produce offense for us.” Kaprizov is the Wild’s leading scorer with 19 goals and 30 assists. Eriksson Ek is second on the team with 16 goals and 17 assists. Boldy has 11 goals and 16 assists. The Wild will also tweak their power play, which has been struggling lately. They have scored just one power-play goal in their last five games. “We need to get our power play going,” Evason said. “We have the players to do it, we just need to find the right combinations.” The Wild will have a chance to test out their new combinations when they play the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Sturm, Hartman, Gaudreau on second line

With Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Boldy reunited on the top line, that means Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman and Freddy Gaudreau will be on the second line. Greenway has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but he is expected to return to the lineup against the Blackhawks. Hartman has been playing well lately, with two goals and an assist in his last three games. Gaudreau has also been playing well, with three assists in his last three games. The Wild will need all three of these players to step up and produce offense in order to turn things around.

Duhaime, Dewar, Bjugstad on third line

With Greenway, Hartman and Gaudreau on the second line, that means Connor Dewar, Nico Sturm and Marcus Foligno will be on the third line. Dewar has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but he is expected to return to the lineup against the Blackhawks. Sturm has been playing well lately, with two goals and an assist in his last three games. Foligno has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but he is also expected to return to the lineup against the Blackhawks. The Wild will need all three of these players to step up and produce offense in order to turn things around.

Fourth line unchanged

The Wild’s fourth line will remain unchanged, with Nick Bjugstad, Brandon Duhaime and Mason Shaw. Bjugstad has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but he is expected to return to the lineup against the Blackhawks. Duhaime has been playing well lately, with two goals and an assist in his last three games. Shaw has also been playing well, with three assists in his last three games. The Wild will need all three of these players to step up and produce offense in order to turn things around.