Wild shut out Seattle, look for Xcel Energy Center upgrades

(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for fifth shutout of the season as the Wild blanked the Kraken 4-0 on Wednesday night in St. Paul. Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy and Liam Ohgren gave the Wild a quick 3-0 lead in the first 4:29 of the hockey game – the fastest three goals in the N-H-L this season to start the game – and never looked back. Boldy would also add an empty netter to seal the victory, his first two goals of the month of March. The Wild are now 39-25-5 on the season and their 83 points pull them within two point of Colorado for third place in the Central Division. The Avs lost 2-1 in Toronto earlier in the night. Minnesota is now 3-2-1 in the first six games of the seven game homestand which concludes on Saturday afternoon at 1 P-M against the Sabres.

(St. Paul, MN) — The city of St. Paul and Minnesota Wild want the state to cover half the cost of a 769-million-dollar renovation project at Xcel Energy Center. The project calls for overhauling the N-H-L arena along with the neighboring Roy Wilkins Auditorium and St. Paul River Centre. Wild owner Craig Leipold would contribute close to 216-million dollars and St. Paul and Ramsey County intend to cover about 159-million dollars. Mayor Melvin Carter is expected to make the request today to the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee.