Game Preview: Wild at Penguins

PITTSBURGH, Penn. -- The Minnesota Wild heads out on the road today, starting a short weekend road trip in Pittsburgh, ready to challenge the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Friday, November 21st at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
• Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Wild at Penguins

Wild Record: 10-7-4

Penguins Record: 10-5-4

2025-26 Series Record: 0-1-0

All-Time Wild Record: 16-18-2 (9-9-0 at Pittsburgh)

Last Time Out

This Season on Wild vs. Penguins

Pittsburgh won the series-opening contest, 4-1, at Grand Casino Arena (10/30).

LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-0=1) scored the Wild’s lone goal, with C Marco Rossi (0-1=1) and LW Marcus Johansson (0-1=1) picking up assists. G Filip Gustavsson stopped 30-of-34 shots faced for Minnesota.

D Kris Letang (0-2=2), RW Bryan Rust (1-1=2) and D Ryan Shea (1-1=2) led the Penguins with two points each. C Ben Kindel (1-0=1) and RW Anthony Mantha (1-0=1) also scored. G Tristan Jarry saved 26-of-27 shots faced to earn the win for Pittsburgh.

Wild Leaders Against Penguins

• Johansson leads Minnesota with 26 points (10-16=26) in 45 career games against Pittsburgh
• RW Mats Zuccarello has 23 points (7-16=23) in 37 games
• D Zach Bogosian (4-9=13, in 33 games) and RW Vladimir Tarasenko (4-9=13, in 22 games) have 13 points each
• D Jonas Brodin has 12 points (3-9=12) in 21 games

Penguins Leaders Against Wild

• C Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh with 40 points (14-26=40) in 27 career games against Minnesota
• D Erik Karlsson owns 36 points (9-27=36) in 32 games
• C Evgeni Malkin owns 28 points (12-16=28) in 23 matches
• Letang has 22 points (4-18=22) in 25 contests

View all transactions

On the Mend

Zach Bogosian: lower body (16 games missed)

Ryan Hartman: lower body (one game missed)

Marco Rossi: lower body (three games missed)

Nico Sturm: upper body (21 games missed)

Vladimir Tarasenko: lower body (three games missed)

Full Injury Report

Connections

• Minnesota President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin totaled 57 points (26-31=57) in 95 games with Pittsburgh in two seasons (2008-10), winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Guerin spent eight seasons in the Penguins’ front office (2011-19), including five seasons (2014-19) as Assistant General Manager where he won two more Stanley Cups (2016, 2017)
• Minnesota Head Coach John Hynes served as Head Coach of WilkesBarre Scranton for five seasons (2010-15) and one season as an Assistant Coach (2009-10). Hynes led Wilkes-Barre to a record of 231-126-27 in 384 games (.636) and five consecutive appearances in the Calder Cup Playoffs as Head Coach
• Gustavsson was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (55th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft
• F Vinnie Hinostroza played in 14 games for Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 season, posting three points (1-2=3)
• Crosby played at Shattuck St. Mary’s (2002-03)…C Connor Dewar was drafted by Minnesota in the third round (No. 92 overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft and collected 38 points (18-20=38) in 173 across three seasons (2021-24) with the Wild
• D Matt Dumba was selected seventh overall by the Wild in the 2012 NHL Draft and collected 236 points (79-157=236), 399 PIM and a plus-29 rating in 598 games in 10 seasons (2013-23) with Minnesota
• C Tommy Novak played four seasons at the University of Minnesota (2015-19) and played high school hockey at St. Thomas Acadamy
• C Blake Lizotte is from Lindstrom and played two seasons at St. Cloud State University (2017-19)
• RW Justin Brazeau tallied two points (1-1=2) in 19 games with Minnesota last season
• Wild Player Development Advisor Alex Goligoski was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (No. 61 overall) of the 2004 NHL Draft and recorded 90 points (3-67=90) in 177 games across four seasons (2007-11) with the Penguins
• Penguins Assistant Coach Nick Bonino appeared in 55 games and recorded 26 points (10-16=26) in one season (2020-21) with the Wild
• Penguins Player Development Coach Matt Cullen was born in Virginia, Minn., played at Moorhead High School and St. Cloud State, and recorded 123 points (44-79=123) in 272 games across four seasons (2010-13, 2017-18) with the Wild

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.