Wild to scratch Dumba for second straight game on Saturday

Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason indicated Friday that the Wild will employ use the same lineup on Saturday as they did against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

As a result, defenceman Matt Dumba will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. 

Dumba spoke to the media ahead of Thursday's game, and said he felt his game had been good as of late and was surprised to get scratched. He added that neither he or the coaching staff were happy with his performance against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Last week on Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported that the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators are among the teams interested in Dumba, but the Wild may not be willing to part with the blueliner. 

"When I think of a team that may have a defenceman available, I think of Matt Dumba and the Minnesota Wild," Dreger said. "There’s no question that the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators have reached out and do have interest in Dumba. Why wouldn’t you? He’s 28 years old, he’s a right-shot defenceman and he’s a pending unrestricted free agent.

"The problem from the Wild’s standpoint is they need him. They’re playing pretty well right now. They’re not sure just yet they are ready to move on from Matt Dumba, even though you look into the future and you see the cap issue of the Minnesota Wild … But the price would be high and then the Wild would have to hit the market potentially to find someone to replace Matt Dumba."

In 43 games this season, his 10th with the Wild, Dumba has four goals and 12 points.