Game Preview: Wild at Blues

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. -- The Minnesota Wild kicks off the 2025-26 season tonight, venturing to St. Louis to challenge the Blues in a Midwest showdown.

The team is entering the season with multiple players out due to injury, with RW Mats Zuccarello and C Nico Sturm both projected to miss tonight's match. D Jonas Brodin remains questionable for this evening and has not been ruled out, per Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune.

[Updated 1:37 p.m. CT] Coach John Hynes has confirmed that Brodin will not play in tonight's match against the Blues.

What You Missed This Summer on Wild Hockey

• Minnesota Wild Unveils 25th Anniversary Jersey and Theme Nights | September 25, 2025
• Minnesota Wild Signs Kirill Kaprizov to an Eight-year Contract Extension | September 30, 2025
• Minnesota Wild Signs Filip Gustavsson to a Five-year Contract Extension | October 4, 2025

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Thursday, October 9th at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Enterprise Center (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Blues

2024-25 Series Record: 3-1-0

All-Time Wild Record: 44-35-21 (17-20-12 at St. Louis)

Last Season on Wild vs. Blues

Minnesota went 3-1-0 vs. St. Louis. The Wild won the series-opening game, 4-1, at Enterprise Center (10/15), the second contest, 4-2, in St. Louis (11/19) and the third contest, 6-4, in Saint Paul (1/7). St. Louis won the final meeting, 5-1, at Grand Casino Arena (3/15).

LW Kirill Kaprizov (2- 2=4), C Ryan Hartman (2-2=4) and D Jake Middleton (2-2=4) led Minnesota with four points each. Brodin (1-2=3), LW Marcus Johansson (1-2=3) and Zuccarello (0-3=3) each had three points. G Filip Gustavsson went 2-1-0 with a 3.24 GAA and .887 SV%, while also scoring the first goal of his hockey career, a power-play goal in the first meeting, to become the first goaltender in franchise history to find the net. G Marc-André Fleury entered the third game in relief and saved all 15 shots faced to earn the victory.

RW Jordan Kyrou led St. Louis with five points (4-1=5), including a hat trick in the series finale. RW Pavel Buchnevich (1-3=4) and C Robert Thomas (1-3=4) had four points each, G Jordan Binnington started three contests for the Blues, going 0-3-0 with a 3.75 GAA and a .859 SV%. G Joel Hofer stopped 17-of-18 shots faced to earn the win in the final game.

Wild Leaders Against Blues

• Zuccarello leads the Wild with 23 points (7-16=23) in 34 career games against St. Louis
• Hartman owns 22 points (13-9=22) in 37 contests
• Kaprizov (8-9=17 in 19 games) and Brodin (5-12=17 in 49 games) each have 17 points
• D Jared Spurgeon has 16 points (4-12=16) in 53 games

Blues Leaders Against Wild

• C Brayden Schenn leads St. Louis with 30 career points (11- 19=30) in 40 career games against the Wild
• Kyrou has 26 points (15-11=26) in 23 games
• D Justin Faulk owns 23 points (3-20=23) in 38 contests
• Buchnevich owns 22 points (10-12=22) in 21 games

To view recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

Connections

• Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin registered 47 points (28-19=47) in 61 contests with the Blues in 2006-07
• RW Vladimir Tarasenko was selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft by St. Louis and collected 553 points (262-291=553) in 644 games over a span of 11 seasons (2012-23). Tarasenko also recorded 60 points (41-19=60) in 90 Stanley Cup Playoff games with St. Louis, and won a Stanley Cup in 2019. He ranks fifth all-time on St. Louis in points and goals and is seventh in assists
• Faulk is from South Saint Paul and played one season at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2010-11)
• C Nick Bjugstad is a Minneapolis native and played three seasons at the University of Minnesota (2010-13). He tallied 30 points (13-17=30) in 101 games in two seasons with the Wild (2020-22)
• C Oskar Sundqvist recorded seven points (3-4=7) in 15 games with Minnesota in 2022-23

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is 6-2-2 in its last 10 meetings against the Blues
• The Wild has never swept a season series against the Blues
• Minnesota topped St. Louis in the 2015 First Round, clinching the series with a Game 6 win in Saint Paul – marking the first time in franchise history Minnesota won a playoff series on home ice
• The Blues defeated the Wild in the 2017 First Round and 2022 First Round

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