Crucial points are up for grabs as the Minnesota Wild face-off against Central Division rival the St. Louis Blues.
After a brief stop back home in Minnesota, the Minnesota Wild continue their long road trip where they are (1-1-0) with a loss in Vancouver and a big win in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Once again Minnesota allowed their opponents to score first in Edmonton. The results though were favorable for the Wild with a 4-3 victory against the Oilers. Alex Stalock stepped in nicely for Dubnyk making 34 saves on 37 shots.
Eric Staal recorded three points (1-2=3) on Tuesday. He is on a hot streak of late with (2-3=5) in his last three games.
Speaking of streaks, defenseman Jared Spurgeon has a three-game point streak also with (1-2=3). Through 12 matches Spurgeon has (2-5=7).
Mikael Granlund continues to impress this season extending his point streak to nine games, with two points (1-1=2) Tuesday night.
According to dailyfaceoff.com, Devan Dubnyk will likely be between the pipes against the Blues after a night off in Edmonton on Tuesday. Dubnyk has been a brick wall for the Wild with a 5-2-2 record, 2.19 GAA and a .937 SV%.
The Minnesota Wild faceoff against the Blues in St. Louis for the first time this season and they will be back again in the Gateway City on November 11th.
Opponent: St. Louis Blues
Arguably the busiest off-season in the NHL took place in St. Louis this past summer. The Blues added Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, David Perron, and goaltender Chad Johnson through trades and free agency signings. The busy off-season hasn’t resulted in the best start so far this season. St. Louis started with a 1-3-2 record in their first 5 games. Coach Mike Yeo has the team playing a bit better of late with a 3-1-1 record in their last 5 games.
Minnesota will have to keep an eye on Ryan O’Reilly who leads the Blues in scoring with 12 assists and 15 points in 11 games. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team with 6 goals.
The Rundown
Minnesota Wild (7-3-2) 16pts versus St. Louis Blues (4-4-3) 11pts
Puck Drop: 7:08 p.m. Central Enterprise Center
Radio: KFAN FM and affiliates
Watch: Fox Sports North; Fox Sports app
All-Time Record vs. Blues: 32-24-14 (21-9-6 at Xcel Energy Center, 11-15-8 at St. Louis)
17-18: Wild went (3-1-0) vs. St. Louis last season
Team Series Leaders:
Wild: Koivu has C Mikko Koivu leads the Wild with 36 points (12-24=36) in 50 games.
Blues: Steen leads the Blues with 27 points (6-21=27) in 35 games against Minnesota.
Wild Goalies vs. Blues: Dubnyk is 9-13-2 with a 3.18 GAA and a .896 SV% in 24 career starts vs. the Blues. Alex Stalock is 0-0-1 with a 4.21 GAA and a .800 SV% in three games.
Blues Goalies vs. Wild: Allen is 7-3-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .906 SV% in 15 games (12 starts) vs. the Wild. Goalie Chad Johnson is 2-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA, a .905 SV% and one shutout in five career games (four starts).
Injuries:
Wild: Matt Hendricks (leg)
Blues: Robert Bortuzzo (Lower-body)
Tonight should be an intense divisional match-up as the Blues hope to continue recovering from their rough start. Per dailyfaceoff.com, struggling goalie Jake Allen will get the start.
The Minnesota Wild will need to get on the board early and take advantage of a goalie who may be lacking confidence lately. Allen has a 4-2-3 record with a 3.88 GAA and a 0.878 SV%.
All stats courtesy of nhl.com and dailyfaceoff.com.