Airplane theatrics in the rear view, Wild hits ice in Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Wild had a day off Wednesday to enjoy the sunny comforts of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; spend time with the
dads, family members and mentors
who have joined the team for this year's fathers-mentors trip; and get some rest.
The latter luxury couldn't have come at a better time.
Minnesota skated here Thursday for the first time since knocking off the Ottawa Senators in a 6-4, comeback victory Tuesday night. After an engine malfunction caused the team to change charter planes before takeoff, its players, coaches and traveling staff didn't arrive at their hotel until close to 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Believe it or not, coach Bruce Boudreau has seen worse.
His 2010 Capitals team ran into a similar situation -- during the first round of the playoffs in Montreal.
"We got home at 7 in the morning," the coach said from BB&T Center, where the Wild and Florida face off Friday at 6:30 p.m. "We were supposed to practice that day, but we flew into Baltimore -- not even into Dallas -- we had to take cabs to get our cars back. I just said, 'Boys, be at pregame skate' the next day. We started out so lethargic that we lost Game 5, then we lost Game 6, then we lost Game 7. I blamed it all on that."
With two important games Friday against the Panthers and Saturday at Tampa before the NHL's three-day holiday respite, the current stakes are still high. Which is why Boudreau included several high-energy drills in Thursday's practice regimen.
"I thought we had to push them pretty hard today," Boudreau said.

Dubnyk skates

Goalie Devan Dubnyk skated Wednesday for the first time since exiting the Wild's Dec. 12 game against Calgary with a lower-body injury. Boudreau said he was "pleasantly surprised" at how Dubnyk appeared to be moving.

"I was really pleasantly surprised the way he was moving," Boudreau said. "After one drill, I asked a player if that was Devan. You don't expect the first time the guy's on the ice in 10 days … that he's going to be that good."
The coach said Dubnyk will likely remain idle through the holiday break but could return sometime around the New Year. The Wild hosts the Stars on Dec. 27 and the Predators on Dec. 29 before concluding the 2017 portion of its schedule Dec. 30 at Nashville.
In 23 starts this season, Dubnyk is 12-8-2 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. Alex Stalock, who's expected to start Friday, has been solid in relief (6-5-1, 2.80, .913).

Parise continues to progress

As anxious as the entire club is to see Zach Parise -- including Parise himself -- play his first game of the season, Boudreau preached patience even as the forward continues to get closer to returning.
Parise underwent microdiscectomy surgery Oct. 24, resumed skating on his own Nov. 29 and returned to practice last Wednesday. He's rounding more into form every day, Boudreau said, but the coaching and training staffs will ensure he doesn't come back too soon and re-aggravate the injury.
"This has been such a long, lingering injury not only for this year but for previous years that when he plays, he's got to be] fully ready," Boudreau said. "To us, an extra week, an extra four or five days, an extra few games, his value's going to be tremendous when he gets back. We want him back right, and I'm sure he wants to be back right."
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