Game Preview: Lightning vs. Wild

ST PAUL, MN -- It’s a battle of two of the NHL’s best as the Minnesota Wild hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:00 p.m. on Wild+ and KFAN FM 100.3 on Military Appreciation Night. Minnesota enters with a three-game win streak and a seven-game point streak (6-0-1) on the line, while Tampa Bay comes in with a two-game win streak and a five-game point streak (3-0-2). These are also the only two teams in the NHL who have not suffered a regulation loss at home yet this season. Minnesota is 5-0-1 at Grand Casino Arena.

This is the third set of back-to-back games for Minnesota this season—it is 1-1-0 in its previous two second half games with a loss against Winnipeg on Oct. 13 and a win over the Canucks on Oct. 25. The Lightning, on the other hand, in games against teams on the second night of a back-to-back, is 3-0-0 this season, with two of those wins coming in its last two games (Nov. 3 vs. DET and Nov. 5 vs. CHI). The Lightning has played in one set of back-to-back games this season (Oct. 23-24).

Minnesota dropped a 3-2 decision at Tampa in the first meeting this season on Oct. 8. Last season they split the season series with each team winning in its home arena. Minnesota earned a 5-1 win on March 3, while the Lightning secured a 6-3 win on March 24. Minnesota has found success at home against Tampa Bay, however. The Wild owns a 16-3-0 record all-time against the Lightning at home and has won 12 of the last 13 meetings played in Saint Paul.

With the back-to-back, Calvin Pickard will get the start tonight for Minnesota. He is 1-1-0 with a 3.50 GAA and a .833 SV% in his previous two starts this season. In his career against the Lightning, Pickard owns an 0-0-3 record with a 3.27 GAA and a .893 SV%. He stopped 33-of-35 shots faced in his last outing against Tampa Bay on Nov. 20, 2025.

When it comes to players to watch, it’s hard to stay away from the four guys that come into tonight’s contest with a seven-game point streak. Matt Boldy (2-6=8), Joel Eriksson Ek (4-5=9), Quinn Hughes (4-8=12) and Kirill Kaprizov (5-8=13) will all look to extend their point streaks to eight games. Also, not to be overshadowed, defenseman Jonas Brodin will look to set new career-long assist and point streaks (0-4=4) tonight.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m.
• Where: Grand Casino Arena (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Tickets
• Watch: How to Watch
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Lightning vs. Wild

Records:

• Minnesota Wild Record: 12-3-3, 27 points.
• Tampa Bay Lightning Record: 10-3-2, 22 points.
• All-Time Wild Record: 23-12-4 (16-3-0 at Grand Casino Arena, 7-9-4 at Tampa Bay).

Wild Leaders Against Lightning

• LW Nick Foligno leads Minnesota with 24 points (12-12=24) in 53 career games against Tampa Bay
• D Quinn Hughes owns 18 points (5-13=18) in 13 games
• LW Kirill Kaprizov has 14 points (8-6=14) in 10 games
• LW Marcus Foligno owns 13 points (8-5=13) in 32 career games
• D Zach Bogosian has 12 points (3-9=12) in 40 career games.

Lightning Leaders Against Wild

• Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 23 points (10-13=23) in 22 career games against Minnesota
• D Ryan McDonagh (4-15=19 in 28 games) and C Jake Guentzel (7-12=19 in 17 games) have 19 points each
• C Brayden Point has 13 points (7-6=13) in 17 games
• D Victor Hedman has 12 points (4-8=12) in 25 career games

Connections

• D Zach Bogosian collected 15 points (4-11=15) in 106 games over
  parts of four seasons (2019-20, 2021-24) with the Lightning and was a
  member of Tampa Bay’s 2020 Stanley Cup Championship team
• RW Blake Coleman collected 32 points (14-18=32) in 64 games over a span of two
  seasons with Tampa Bay (2019-21) and was a member of Tampa Bay’s 2020
  and 2021 Stanley Cup Championship teams
• C Jake Guentzel played two seasons (2010-12) at Hill-Murray High School…McDonagh is from Saint Paul and played three seasons (2004-07) at Cretin-Derham Hall
• Lightning CEO Steve Griggs spent eight years as Vice President of Sales and Service for the Wild.

Fast Facts

• The Wild owns a .641 all-time point percentage (23-12-4) against Tampa Bay, the third-highest of any active franchise
• Minnesota is 16-3-0 (.842 point percentage) all-time at home against Tampa Bay, their second-highest point percentage against any opponent in franchise history
  (Montreal, .853).

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