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NHL on NBCSN: Boudreau ‘nervous’ about going back to Anaheim

Winnipeg Jets v Minnesota Wild

ST PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Bruce Boudreau of the Minnesota Wild looks on during the game against Winnipeg Jets on October 15, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2016-17 campaign tonight when the Anaheim Ducks host the Minnesota Wild at 8:00 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.

Tonight will be the first edition of “Star Sunday” on NBCSN. The special feature will take place most Sunday’s throughout the rest of the regular season, and it will focus on one NHL superstar on each of the teams playing that night.

NBCSN will provide special access to pre-game player arrivals and interviews, exclusive pre-game features and “get to know” segments, which should be a whole lot of fun.

This evening’s game will feature Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler and Minnesota’s Ryan Suter.

“Ryan Kesler is smart in identifying matchups, and getting opponents off their game by being physical and nasty,” said NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire.” Ryan Suter is sneaky strong – not terribly large, but very tough to move, and doesn’t get beat very often in the corners. I’ll be watching for that when they’re on the ice together, to see how Suter and Kesler respond to the physical challenge from one another.”

Now, let’s get to the game.

The Wild are coming off a 4-3 OT loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, and if you think head coach Bruce Boudreau was satisfied with the loser point, guess again.

“I would rather have the other point,” Boudreau told the Minneapolis StarTribune. “Those are good accomplishments for one minute or one day, and everybody forgets about them. There’s only one accomplishment that you really want to get that people remember, and that’s the final one. That’s the one that counts.”

The Wild had their 12-game winning streak come to an end after they dropped a decision to the Blue Jackets on Dec.31, but Boudreau’s been frustrated with his team’s play since before the defeat on New Year’s Eve.
“I don’t like the trends that are happening in the last six games. If we want to be a legitimate good team, we’ve got to correct these things.”

There’s a good chance he’s referencing the team’s overall defensive game, which has slipped in the last little while. Minnesota has given up at four goals in each of their last four contests. They may be 2-1-1 during that span, but that can’t continue.

As for Boudreau, he’ll be making his return to Anaheim for the first time since being fired by the team last April.

“I’d lie to you if I wasn’t going to be nervous coming back,” Boudreau said, per the OC Register. “I was nervous coming back to Washington for the first time. I’m excited about it. You build up a lot of friendships in 4 1/2 years in one spot.”

The Ducks settled on Randy Carlyle as their new head coach and the results have started to come. They’ve won three straight games and are tied for the Pacific Division lead with 50 points (the Sharks have a game in hand).

One of the reasons the Ducks have been able to find some consistency in their game is because they’ve been getting some solid goaltending from both John Gibson and Jonathan Bernier.

With the off-season trade of Frederik Andersen to Toronto, Gibson was sort of handed the starting job. He got off to a slow start, but he’s starting to come around. He’s won three in a row and four of his last five. He hasn’t lost a game in regulation since Dec. 17.

“You don’t win without quality goaltending in the NHL,” Carlyle said after Friday’s win over Arizona. "(Gibson) and (Bernier) have both given us NHL quality goaltending. As I stated earlier, they would be 1A and 1B. You have to be happy with what they’ve been able to provide for us. Gibby’s been real strong for us as of late.”