Game Thread - Minnesota Wild at Atlanta Thrashers

Tonight the MInnesota Wild enter Philips Arena to face the Thrashers for the teams' only meeting of the season. The Wild are riding a three game winning streak, but haven't been flashy: their last four wins have been one goal margins. This has meant great news for anyone who holds Niklas Backstrom in a fantasy league, because he's posted a 6-3-2 record with a .941 save pct and a 1.80GAA. Also, Antti Miettinen looks to return from a concussion tonight, which may give the Wild a boost. The flipside of the coin gives the Thrashers, who are licking their wounds from an embarrassing 5-2 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. Even though the Thrashers managed to score first, they we're unable to keep the pressure on, as Ottawa potted 5 unanswered goals. Stat of the day: Atlanta has a .167 win pct when scoring first. Ondrej Pavelec holds a respectable .921 save pct, but a bloated 2.70 GAA - he should be able to rein that in a little, as the Wild are currently 27th in the NHL in Goals For. We've heard this song before: high-scoring Eastern Conference team versus defensive-minded Western Conference team. Can the Thrashers get the puck through the middle and into the net?

Some gameday linkage:

- Be warned: traffic may suck tonight.

- Bryan Little is closer to returning, and Coach Ramsay talks about not losing the puck up the middle.

- Ben Wright has some news on a little line shuffle, and Rammer wanting opponents out of the kitchen.