Wild excited to be at home for Game 3 vs. Las Vegas

Wild coach Dean Evason is sticking with the same lineup when the best-of-seven series vs. Las Vegas continues Thursday night with Game 3 in St. Paul. In other words, no Zach Parise.

Gametime tonight is 8:30 p.m. The series is tied 1-1.

"Hopefully by this time of year you know what works," Evason told reporters Thursday morning, via Zoom. "We look at the numbers and we communicate what the eye test tells us, and we like where our group is. We like how our team sets up. It does fit for depth, and hopefully that’ll give us a chance to have success going forward."

***Click the video box above to watch Evason, Nico Sturm, and Jonas Brodin meet with reporters Thursday morning***

Home-ice advantage for the Wild means getting the last line change, and close to 5,000 fans rooting them on. The Wild went 21-5-2 at the "X" in the regular season.

"We love playing here," Evason said. "We love playing in front of our fans. We know our fans are going to be as vocal as theirs. So, they’ll give us a great energy boost for sure."

Golden Knights leading scorer Max Pacioretty, who hasn’t played in the first two games, didn’t skate Thursday morning ahead of Game 3. Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said he is a game-time decision.