If they play like they did against Dallas at home in Colorado this game might be entertaining.  On Saturday night, Darroll Powe decided he had enough of Steve Ott who slashed Jared Spurgeon, then attempted to decapitate Clutterbuck in a scrum.  Powe and Ott  fought 12 seconds after they each came out of the penalty box for roughing.   Ott took down Powe and then did the unthinkable and punched him in the face while on the ice.  The Wild bench absolutely exploded, and in 3:17 seconds, so did the Wild’s game.  Clutterbuck, Rau and Kyle Brodziak all scored within 59 seconds for the fastest three goals in Wild history.  A great end to Hockey Day in Minnesota.

Tonight however they must play the same inspired hockey in Colorado as they did against Dallas. The Wild are in an 11-game road winless streak, one short of the team record. Colorado, which has played two more games than the Wild, is in eighth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Wild. This is the Wild's final game before the All-Star break.  Backstrom will return to the net and the suggested lines are as follows:

Johnson-Brodziak-Heatley  

Clutterbuck-Cullen-Setoguchi

Powe-Peters-McMillan  

Ortmeyer-Rau-Kassian

Schultz-Spurgeon

Falk-Prosser

Stoner-Zanon

Lundin, Staubitz and Zidlicky are expected to be the scratches again tonight.

The Wild has won four of the past five games against Colorado and is 8-1-2 in its past 11 games in Denver.

Lets Get Wild

****Nick Johnson will represent the Wild as a rookie taking part in the skills competition on Saturday night in Ottawa. Johnson, 25, was plucked off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the season, is tied for 10th in rookie scoring with 16 points in 44 games.  Johnson has used his skating ability and his size (6-2, 202 pounds) to make an impact. He has skated on just about every line, most recently with the top line as the team deals with injuries.