Preview: Wild at Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Minnesota Wild heads West today, venturing to San Jose to do battle against the Sharks.

The Wild had its four-game winning streak broken on Thursday night, when the Avalanche defeated the Wild 6-1 amid significant injuries in the Wild camp. The Wild has lost several key players to injury in the new year, with D Jonas Brodin, D Brock Faber, C Jakub Lauko, LW Kirill Kaprizov, and D Jared Spurgeon all missing the match against Colorado.

Tonight, the stage is set in San Jose for battle; the Wild on the first night of a back-to-back as San Jose fights through its second game in its own back-to-back. The Wild can only hope that the Sharks lack enough energy to be a threat, despite Minnesota's missing players.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, January 11 at 9:00 p.m. CT
• Where: SAP Center (San Jose, California)
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Sharks

Wild Record: 26-12-4, 56 points, 2nd in Central Division

Sharks Record: 13-24-6, 32 points, 8th in Pacific Division

2024-25 Series Record: 1-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 41-36-9 (19-21-4 at San Jose)

Last Time Out

The Wild was brutally dissected by the Avalanche on Thursday in St. Paul as Minnesota faces significant losses to injury. Colorado set the tone of the match early, netting an early goal just minutes into the first period. As the first period neared its end, Colorado scored once more before D Zach Bogosian recorded the only Wild goal of the night. Following Bogo's slick wrist shot, Colorado would go on to find the back of the net four more times. G Filip Gustavsson saved 19-of-25 shots on goal.

San Jose fell to Utah Hockey Club last night, 2-1. LW Fabian Zetterlund scored the lone goal for the Sharks, assisted by C Mikael Granlund and D Cody Ceci. G Alexandar Georgiev saved 24-of-26 shots on goal.

This Season on Wild vs. Sharks

Minnesota won the series-opening game, 5-2, in San Jose (11/7).

LW Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with three points (0-3=3). LW Matt Boldy scored two goals (2-0=2). G Marc-André Fleury saved 24-of-26 shots faced to earn the Win for Minnesota.

C Macklin Celebrini (2-0=2) scored both goals for the Sharks, assisted each time by C Mikael Granlund (0-2=2) and D Henry Thrun (0-2=2). G Vitek Vanecek stopped 26-of-30 shots faced for San Jose.

Wild Leaders Against Sharks

• RW Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild with 27 points (10-17=27) in 30 career contests against the Sharks
• Kaprizov owns 21 points (10-11=21) in 17 games)
• Spurgeon has 18 points (8-10=18) in 42 games
• C Ryan Hartman owns 15 points (2-13=15) in 27 games

Sharks Leaders Against Wild

• C Logan Couture leads San Jose with 30 points (14- 16=30) in 45 career games against Minnesota
• RW Tyler Toffoli has 20 points (10-10=20) in 31 games
• D Marc-Edouard Vlasic has 14 points (1-13=14) in 60 games
• Granlund has 13 points (3-10=13) in 17 games

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

On the Mend

Jonas Brodin: lower-body injury (one game missed)

Brock Faber: upper-body injury (one game missed)

Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (seven games missed)

Jakub Lauko: lower-body injury (11 games missed)

Jared Spurgeon: lower-body injury (four games missed)

Connections

• Minnesota President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin skated in 16 games with San Jose during the 2006-07 season
• D Jake Middleton recorded 12 points (3-9=12) and 82 PIM in 59 games for San Jose in parts of four seasons (2018-22)
• Granlund was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft (9th overall) and tallied 317 points (93-224=317) in 461 games in parts of seven seasons with the Wild (2012-19)
• C Luke Kunin was drafted by Minnesota in the first round (15th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and totaled 52 points (23-29=52) in 131 games in three seasons with the Wild (2017-20)
• C Nico Sturm tallied 36 points (20-16=36) in 111 games in parts of four seasons with the Wild (2018-22)

Fast Facts

• Minnesota has won nine of the last 12 meetings (9-2-1) vs. San Jose
• Minnesota is 14-6-2 in its last 22 contests against the Sharks at Xcel Energy Center
• The Wild has points in 10 of the last 15 games played at SAP Center at San Jose (9-5-1)

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