With Game 3 approaching, the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are monitoring familiar situations with big-name players.
Unfortunately for the struggling Wild, it doesn’t sound like Zach Parise’s in for Game 3, at least as far as Sunday is concerned. (The game itself is tomorrow.)
Just look at how the question of Parise’s status seemed to get answered with a thud:
Is Zach Parise any closer to returning to the #MNWild lineup?
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) April 17, 2016
John Torchetti: "No."
Ouch.
It’s not the only interesting variable for the Wild. They might get some help if they play Mike Reilly after calling him up from the AHL.
Reilly: "It's exciting to get back up here...if I get the chance, I'm definitely ready." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 17, 2016
Again, the Stars also have key situations to keep an eye on. Namely, it doesn’t sound like Tyler Seguin is a lock to play on Monday even after returning in Game 2:
Optional skate today. No Tyler Seguin. Lindy Ruff on Seguin's physical status after first game: "It's OK. We'll see where he is tomorrow."
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) April 17, 2016
Mattias Janmark’s expected return doesn’t necessarily exclude Seguin from the lineup, yet it’s a possible sign of that much:
Ruff added that Janmark's Game 2 scratch was a coach's decision and had nothing to do with his recent injury. https://t.co/AkhGZrCFqh
— Josh Bogorad (@JoshBogorad) April 17, 2016
Seguin logged 15:40 in ice time in Game 2, down from his average of 19:27. Lindy Ruff & Co. may deem it sensible to ease Seguin into the action rather than throwing him in the deep end, and perhaps that will translate to resting him for a game or two.
We’ll likely have a better idea of each lineup on game day tomorrow.