The old adage is, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish." But when you start the season 5-14 like the Minnesota Wild did last year, you're constantly playing catch up.
Now add injuries into the mix and you're more than likely going to miss the playoffs, which they did for the first time in five seasons in 2023-24.
Wild General Manager Bill Guerin says on the eve of their season opener Thursday night, the team is ready.
"It was a tough camp, it was physically demanding, mentally demanding, and the buy-in that he's got for the players has been really, really positive," Guerin says. "And I mean, I think that they've done a lot of good things in this camp to prepare themselves for the start of the season."
The Wild will also open the season with three goalies on the roster. It's an unprecedented situation, but said that youngster Jesper Wallstedt won't just be up here to sit and he needs to soak in all he can from veterans Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury.
"There will be times where he goes to Iowa to play for a weekend but he's going to come right back here," Guerin explains. "I think it's really important that he's practicing at this level, that he's around Gus and he's around Flower and continues to kind of develop as an NHL (player)."
Wallstedt says he's learned so much from Fleury it's hard to take it all in.
"There's so much you can't even think about it really," Wallstedt told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News. "You pick up so many small things just being around him every day. The way he takes care of himself, the way he carries himself around the locker room. He's unbelievable."
PREVIEW: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Minnesota Wild
St. Paul, Minnesota; Thursday, 7 p.m.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wild -236, Blue Jackets +191; over/under is 6.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Wild host the Columbus Blue Jackets for the season opener.
Minnesota went 39-33-10 overall and 20-15-6 in home games a season ago. The Wild scored 3.0 goals per game last season while allowing 3.2 per game.
Columbus had a 27-43-12 record overall and a 10-24-7 record on the road last season. The Blue Jackets scored 234 total goals a season ago, averaging 2.8 per game on 30.0 shots per game.
INJURIES: Wild: None listed.
Blue Jackets: None listed.