Wild Get 4 Days Off, Say 'Rest Is A Weapon'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Yes, it's weird that in the stretch run of the season, as teams battle for playoff spots and positioning, the Wild get a four-day break. They won't play again until Thursday.
"It's not every year, at this time of year, that you even get two days of a break," forward Kyle Brodziak said, "so it's a little odd to get four. But I think guys are pretty happy to be able to take advantage of that."
The Wild had Sunday completely off, and Monday's practice was optional, with not many on the ice for it – certainly not the top-line guys – and not even coach Mike Yeo.
"Rest is a weapon," defenseman Matt Dumba said.
It's a weapon the Wild are thrilled to be able to wield this time of year.
"Couldn't have come at a better time," Dumba said. "We worked hard this weekend, and a nice little break [will] hopefully rejuvenate us."
Brodziak agreed.
"It is needed for sure," he said. "The stretch we went on -- it was a lot of games in not too many days, and that can be tough mentally. And guys have done a really good job of managing that and battling through a lot of that stuff, but when you have the opportunity to kind of reset your mind and refresh things, it's important to take advantage of that."
The regular season is nearing its end, so the four-day break is big for a bigger reason -- it's likely the last chance they have to rest up before what they hope is a long playoff run.
"I think everybody sees it as the last chance where you're going to get a couple days to let your body catch up and be able to refocus your mind," Brodziak said. "So it's important."
Especially since, after two days off now, it'll probably be back to pretty intense practice Tuesday.
"Oh, I imagine, yeah," Brodziak said with a laugh.
