Preview: Wild vs. Sharks

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild returns home after a rough road trip to play the San Jose Sharks tonight at the X. Both teams are playing their second of back-to-back games.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Sunday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Star Wars Night
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Sharks

Wild Record: 28-27-6, 62 points, 6th in Central Division

Sharks Record: 15-38-6, 36 points, 8th in Pacific Division

2022-23 Series Record: 1-2-0

Wild vs. Sharks All-Time Record: 37-36-9 (20-15-5 at Xcel Energy Center)

Last Time Out

The Wild fell to the St. Louis Blues, 3-1, last night on the road. D Jon Merrill (1-0=1) was the only point-recorder for the Wild as his goal was unassisted. G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24-of-26 shots to post a .923 SV%.

The Sharks were unsuccessful in a shootout against the Dallas Stars, 3-2, last night. F Luke Kunin (0-2=2) paced San Jose with two points. Forwards William Eklund (1-0=1) and Filip Zadina (1-0=1) were the goal-scorers for the Sharks. G Magnus Chrona saved 36-of-38 shots faced (.947 SV%) and went seven rounds in the shootout in the loss.

Last Season on Wild vs. Sharks

Minnesota went 1-1-1 against San Jose in 2022-23.

Minnesota dropped the series opening game, 3-2, in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center (11/13) and the second game, 5-2, at SAP Center (12/22), and won the series finale 5-2 in San Jose (3/11).

F Mats Zuccarello led Minnesota with four points (2-2=4). F Matt Boldy trailed with three points (1-2=3). F Freddy Gaudreau scored two goals and G Filip Gustavsson was 0-1-1 with a 2.93 GAA and a .902 SV% in two starts. Fleury stopped 35-of-37 shots in the third meeting.

D Eric Karlsson led San Jose with six points (1-5=6). D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (0-2=2) and D Matt Benning (0-2=2) each had two points. G James Reimer went 2-1-0 with a 2.61 GAA and a .905 SV% in three starts.

Players to Watch

• F Mason Shaw made his return to the NHL last night in St. Louis after his fourth ACL tear last season
• D Brock Faber leads all NHL rookies with 25:08 TOI per game, 118 blocked shots and 30 assists, and is second with 34 points (4-30=34). He is seventh among all NHL skaters in TOI/game
• F Mikael Granlund (7-28=35) leads San Jose in points and assists and owns four points (1-3=4) in his last five games played
• Forwards Fabian Zetterlund (15-10=25) and Tomas Hertl (15-19=34) both lead the Sharks in goals followed closely by F Anthony Duclair (13-9=22)

Recent Transactions

The Minnesota Wild signed F Marat Khusnutdinov to a two-way, entry-level contract (2/28). 

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

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

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)
• D Calen Addison collected 38 points (5-33=38) in parts of four seasons (2020-23) with the Wild
• G Kaapo Kahkonen was selected by Minnesota in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft and went 31-17-4 with a 2.89 GAA, a. .907 SV% and two shutouts in 54 games (51 starts) with the Wild (2019-22)
• 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)
• 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)
• F 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 six of the last nine meetings vs. San Jose
• The Wild is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games vs. San Jose

Game Notes

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