After a few days off, the Minnesota Wild are set to continue their home-stand tonight as the Arizona Coyotes roll into St. Paul.
Black Friday brought an emotional come-from-behind victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The Minnesota Wild trailed Winnipeg 2-0 going into the third period, but were able to score four unanswered goals in the final twenty minutes for the win.
Minnesota’s defenseman continue to contribute offensively; the Wild blue-liners are second in the NHL with 20 goals as a group.
Friday, Matt Dumba recorded two assists and set a career high six-game point streak (5-4=9). Nearer the top of the line-up, Zach Parise extended his point streak to four games on Friday (3-1=4).
Per Daily Faceoff, Devan Dubnyk will be between the pipes for the Minnesota Wild. Dubnyk sat out Friday against Winnipeg due to illness. Dubnyk is 9-5-2 with a 2.47 GAA and a .921 SV%, he has 0 shutouts this season.
Minnesota Connections:
The state of Minnesota is well represented on the Coyotes roster. Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids) and Derek Stepan (Hastings) are Minnesota natives.
Arizona Coyotes:
Its been another tough season in the desert for the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes are 2-6-2 in their last ten games. They have lost four matches in a row and sit near the bottom in the Pacific division.
Unlike the Minnesota Wild, the Arizona Coyotes had a busy Thanksgiving weekend. Forward Nick Schmaltz was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday; in exchange for Schmaltz, the Coyotes sent forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to the Blackhawks.
Through 22 games, Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes in scoring (6-8=14).
According to Daily Faceoff, Arizona has yet to name a starting netminder for tonight’s game.
The Rundown
Minnesota Wild (13-7-2) vs. Arizona Coyotes (9-11-2)
Puck Drop: 7:08 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN FM and affiliates
Watch: Fox Sports North; Fox Sports app
All-Time Record vs. Coyotes: 33-22-8 (16-10-5 at Xcel Energy Center, 17-12-3 at Arizona)
18-19: Wild are 1-0-0 this season with 2-1 victory over the Coyotes on 10/16.
Team Series Leaders
Minnesota Wild: Mikko Koivu leads Minnesota with 32 points (8-24=32) in 40 games against Arizona.
Arizona Coyotes: Alex Goligoski leads Arizona with 17 points (5-12=17) in 34 games against Minnesota.
Wild Goalies vs. Coyotes: Dubnyk is 7-6-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .912 SV% in 18 games vs. the Coyotes. Alex Stalock is 1-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and a .879 SV% in two games.
Coyotes Goalies vs. Wild: Antti Raanta is 4-3-0 with a 2.66 GAA and a .901 SV% in eight career games against the Wild. Kuemper stopped 26-of-28 shots in his only career start against Minnesota.
Injuries:
Minnesota Wild: No injuries
Arizona Coyotes: Christian Dvorak (upper body); Jason Demers (lower body); Darcy Kuemper (lower body)
With a few days of rest, the Minnesota Wild should be fresh and ready to go against the lowly Coyotes. Look for Minnesota to send Arizona to their fifth straight loss tonight in St. Paul.
All statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Daily Faceoff.