The Wild start the first full week of sans Mikko Koivu life on Tuesday with a game against the lowly Edmonton Oilers. Sitting in dead last in the West and challenging for a lottery pick, the Oilers are still dangerous. They have a young team full of undeveloped talent, including Taylor Hall.
If you are looking for the real reason fans should be interested in this one it would be the fact that before Tuesday night's game, the Wild will don camouflage jerseys, which will then be autographed and auctioned off to benefit Defending the Blue Line, a nonprofit that has the mission of keeping military children in hockey. The auction will run from Feb. 23 - March 16. We'll provide the link as soon as the auction is up. (You can see an image of the Havlat version above.)
After doing their good deed for the year, the Wild turn their attention back to the schedule, and on to a trip to the left coast for a matchup with the Los Angeles Kings. As of this writing, the Kings were in the eighth spot in the West, and they cannot be pleased with that. Having a +21 goal differential and sitting below teams with a negative number has got to be frustrating. The Kings will likely be active in the upcoming trade flurry as they look to add to the depth of the team before the trade deadline.
To finish out the week, the Wild find themselves going to Disney World. Well, okay, not really. They do however, have a tilt with the Anaheim Ducks, a foe they tangled with just last week, humiliating them 5-1 in the game that cost them Koivu. The Ducks are still one of the hottest teams in the league, and they sit above the Wild in the playoff race. These will be a big two points, and the Wild should be well equipped to earn them.
As always, stay tuned to SBNation Minnesota and Hockey Wilderness for all your Wild needs.