Preview: Wild at Coyotes

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Minnesota Wild has a date with the Arizona Coyotes tonight at Mullett Arena for a special Valentine's Day matchup.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Wednesday, February 14 at 8:30 p.m. CT
• Where: Mullett Arena (Scottsdale, Arizona)
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Coyotes

Wild Record: 24-23-5, 53 points, 6th in Central Division

Coyotes Record: 23-24-4, 50 points, 7th in Central Division

2023-24 Series Record: 0-1-0

Wild vs. Coyotes All-Time Record:  47-28-9 (23-15-4 at Arizona)

Last Time Out

The Wild triumphed over the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-3, on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena. F Matt Boldy (1-2=3) paced the Wild with three points. Forwards Joel Eriksson Ek (2-0=2), Kirill Kaprizov (0-2=2), Ryan Hartman (0-2=2) and D Brock Faber (0-2=2) all recorded two points apiece. Forwards Mats Zuccarello and Marco Rossi each scored once in the win. G Filip Gustavsson managed 27-of-30 saves (.900 SV%) for Minnesota.

The Coyotes are returning home after a loss, 5-3, at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. D J.J. Moser (0-2=2) led Arizona with two points. D Matt Dumba, F Matias Maccelli and F Alex Kerfoot scored for the Coyotes. G Karel Vejmelka stopped 29-of-33 shots faced (.879 SV%) in net.

Previously on Wild vs. Coyotes

The Coyotes won the series-opening game, 6-0, at Xcel Energy Center (1/13).

Gustavsson started for Minnesota and stopped 13-of-18 shots faced before exiting in the second period. G Marc-Andre Fleury saved 14-of-15 shots faced in relief. 

F Nick Bjugstad (3-0=3) and F Clayton Keller (2-1=3) led Arizona with three points each. F Jack McBain (0-2=2), D Sean Durzi (02=2) and F Jason Zucker (0-2=2) also recorded multi-point games. G Connor Ingram saved all 38 shots he faced to earn the shutout victory.

Players to Watch

• Kaprizov leads Minnesota with 49 points (20-29=49) this season and has 25 points (12-13=25) and a plus-10 rating in his last 17 games played
  • He posted his 77th career multi-point game with two assists at VGK (2/12) and is now two shy of tying Zach Parise (79 multi-point games with MIN) for third-most in franchise history
• Faber leads all NHL rookies with 24:59 TOI per game, 104 blocked shots and 29 assists, is T-1st with 33 points (4-29=33) and is 10th among all NHL skaters in TOI/game
  • He recorded his seventh multi-point game of the season with two assists at VGK (2/12), tying Kurtis Foster (2005-06) for the third-highest total by a Wild rookie
• Zuccarello leads the Wild with 31 assists this season and reached the 40-point threshold (9-31=40) for the ninth season in his NHL career with a goal at VGK (2/12)
• Keller (21-28=49) leads Arizona in scoring, has 18 points (8-10=18) in his last 15 games and is T-1st in even-strength goals
• Maccelli (8-26=34) is second on the Coyotes in assists and points
• F Lawson Crouse (19-10=29) is T-1st on Arizona in even-strength goals (15) and is second on his team in goals scored

Recent Transactions

The Minnesota Wild activated F Connor Dewar from Injured Reserve and placed F Marcus Foligno on Injured Reserve (2/12).

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

To view Minnesota's full Injury Report, visit wild.com/injury.

Connections

• D Alex Goligoski collected 152 points (28-124=152) in 362 games during five seasons with the Coyotes (2016-21)
• 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)
• F Travis Boyd is from Hopkins and played four seasons at the University of Minnesota (2011-15)
• F Logan Cooley played one season at the Universoty of Minnesota (2022-23)
• Dumba was selected seventh overall by the Wild in the 2012 NHL Draft and collcted 236 points (79-157=236), 399 PIM and a plus-29 rating in 598 games over a span of 10 seasons (2013-2023)
• McBain was selected by the Wild in the third round (63rd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft
• Zucker was selected by Minnesota in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and collected 243 points (132-111=243) in 456 games in nine seasons (2011-20) with the Wild

Fast Facts

• Minnesota’s 47 all-time wins against Arizona are fifth-most against an opponent
• The Wild is 11-4-1 against the Coyotes since the start of the 2020 season
• Minnesota is 27-8-4 in its last 39 meetings against Arizona, including a 12-game point streak (9-0-3, 1/9/14-2/8/18) - the longest point streak in franchise history vs. an opponent
• Minnesota is 10-4-2 in the last 16 games at Arizona

Game Notes

For more information on tonight's V-Day date, check out the game notes below.