Fansided

Carson Soucy makes high-stakes debut as Wild try to clinch playoffs

By Michelle Bruton

DALLAS, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Minnesota Wild defenseman Carson Soucy (60) looks for the puck during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild on September 26, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Dallas defeats Minnesota 4-1. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Minnesota Wild defenseman Carson Soucy (60) looks for the puck during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild on September 26, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Dallas defeats Minnesota 4-1. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Wild look to clinch their playoff spot on Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers…without most of their top blue liners.

Heading into Monday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Minnesota Wild sit in third place in the Western Conference’s Central Division with 96 points.

But the Wild aren’t out of the woods yet; indeed, Minnesota has yet to actually lock down its playoff spot. The West is still wild, as the Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues could all still reach 99 points before the season’s end on Saturday.

Tonight, if the Wild beat the Oilers and the Avalanche lose to the Kings in regulation, Minnesota is in.

But the Wild will have to do it without top defenseman Ryan Suter, who is out indefinitely with a fractured fibula.

Unfortunately, the Wild were already pretty decimated along the blue line, also missing defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Gustav Olofsson on this West Coast trip.

According to head coach Bruce Boudreau, via Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune, Spurgeon should be back for the playoffs and Olofsson hasn’t yet resumed skating.

That puts just a little bit of pressure (read: a lot) on defenseman Carson Soucy, who makes his NHL debut tonight after being called up from the AHL in the midst of these extraordinary circumstances.

Soucy figures to slot into the third pairing, alongside Nate Prosser and behind Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba and Nick Seeler and Ryan Murphy. But it’s still a high-stakes environment in which to make his NHL debut, as this Wild team tries to put some distance between itself and the Avalanche, Kings and Blues.

Soucy spoke about his debut to media Monday:

“It’s definitely exciting to be back in the hunt here, and I just want to do what I can to help get two points,” Soucy said.

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Puck drop between the Wild and the Oilers is at 8 p.m. ET Monday night, and you can follow the action on FSN or the live stream at Fubo.tv.

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