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Minnesota Wild: Three game home-stand begins against Ottawa

By Andrew Lennox |
ST. PAUL, MN - JANUARY 22: Jared Spurgeon #46 and goalie Alex Stalock #32 of the Minnesota Wild defend their goal against Matt Duchene #95 of the Ottawa Senators during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on January 22, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - JANUARY 22: Jared Spurgeon #46 and goalie Alex Stalock #32 of the Minnesota Wild defend their goal against Matt Duchene #95 of the Ottawa Senators during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on January 22, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)

After a quick trip to Chicago, the Minnesota Wild are back at the Xcel Energy Center to face the Ottawa Senators.

The Minnesota Wild are coming off back-to-back regulation defeats for the first time this season, losing to the Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite the Minnesota Wild losing their last three home games, they are still 6-2-2 in 10 games at Xcel Energy Center.

Matt Dumba continues to have an excellent season; Dumba has eight points (5-3=8) in the last ten games, on the season he has 13 points (8-5=13) in 21 matches.

34-year-old Zach Parise now has 11 points in his last 14 games (8-3=11); through 20 games he has 18 points (9-9=18).

G Devan Dubnyk will start tonight against the Senators per Daily Faceoff. The 32-year-old is 9-5-2 with a 2.36 GAA and a .925 SV% in 16 games this season.

Opponent: Ottawa Senators

Drama has become the new norm in Ottawa as the Senators have dealt with many off-ice issues in recent years. Despite problems, Ottawa has played well at times with a record of 9-9-3 this season.

Ottawa’s power play is 18 for 72 this season (25%), Mark Stone has two goals and six assists on the man-advantage.

The Minnesota Wild will need to keep an eye on Matt Duchene tonight; the 28-year-old has been on fire this season with ten goals and 17 assists in 21 games (10-17=21).

According to Daily Faceoff, veteran netminder, Craig Anderson will start for the Senators tonight, Anderson is 9-6-3 with a 3.77 GAA and a .901 SV%.

The Rundown

Ottawa Senators (9-9-3) at Minnesota Wild (12-7-2)
Puck drop: 7:08 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN FM and affiliates
Watch: Fox Sports North; Fox Sports app

All-Time Record vs. Senators: 8-9-4 (4-5-2 at Xcel Energy Center, 4-4-2 at Ottawa)
18-19: (2-0-0) Minnesota had two wins against the Senators last season.

Team Leaders:

Minnesota Wild: Eric Staal has 44 points (17-27=44) in 47 matches against Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan leads the Senators with 25 points (11-14=25) in 29  games against the Wild.
Minnesota Wild Goalies vs. Senators: Devan Dubnyk is 2-1-1 with a 2.29 GAA and a .908 SV% in five games (four starts) against Ottawa. Stalock is 4-1-1 with a 2.49 GAA and a .917 SV% in six starts.
Ottawa Senators Goalies vs. Wild: Anderson is 6-9-3 with a 2.98 GAA, a .900 SV% and one shutout in 19 games (18 starts) against Minnesota. Mike McKenna has not faced the Wild.

Injuries:

Minnesota Wild: none on injured reserve
Ottawa Senators: Marian Gaborik (back), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (torn achilles), Ben Harpur (undisclosed injury)

Dubnyk needs a lesser workload to be great. dark. Next

For the Minnesota Wild to get a victory against Ottawa, they will need to stay out of the box. As mentioned earlier the Senators are 25% on the power play. Let’s hope the Wild can score in bunches tonight; Ottawa has given up more goals than any other team allowing 88.

Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Daily Faceoff.

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