Preview: Wild vs. Lightning

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild faces the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time this season tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Thursday, January 4 at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM

Wild Record: 16-16-4, 36 points, 7th in Central Division

Lightning Record: 18-16-5, 41 points, 4th in Atlantic Division

2022-23 Series Record:  1-1-0

Wild vs. Flames All-Time Record: 20-8-4 (14-2-0 at Xcel Energy Center)

Last Time Out

The Wild fell to the Calgary Flames, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center (1/2). F Pat Maroon scored the only goal for the Wild, assisted by forwards Nic Petan and Marco Rossi. G Marc-Andre Fleury made 30-of-32 saves for a .938 SV% in the loss. Calgary also scored an empty net goal. 

The Lightning lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2, on January 2 at Canada Life Centre. F Steven Stamkos and F Nikita Kucherov scored for Tampa Bay. G Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 24-of-27 shots faced (.889 SV%) in net for the Lightning. Winnipeg also scored an empty net goal.

What Happened Last Time?

The Wild were unsuccessful over the Lightning, 4-2, at Amalie Arena on 1/24 last season. Forwards Joel Eriksson Ek (1-1=2) and Kirill Kaprizov scored for the Wild. F Matt Boldy and D Jake Middleton also notched assists in the contest. Fleury made 35-of-38 saves (.921 SV%) for Minnesota. 

F Corey Perry scored twice and Kucherov and Stamkos netted goals for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy made 33-of-35 saves for a .943 SV%. 

D Calen Addison (1-2=3), Eriksson Ek (2-1=3), Kaprizov (3-0=3) and Boldy (0-3=3) all had three points against Tampa Bay in 2022-23. G Filip Gustavsson was 1-0-0 with a 1.04 GAA and a .971 SV% while Fleury was 0-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and a .921 SV% in two games (one start) against the Lightning.

Kucherov led Tampa Bay with three points (1-2=3), Perry scored twice for Tampa, F Brayden Point (1-0=1) and Stamkos also scored. G Brian Elliott was 0-1-0 with a 4.08 GAA and a .875 SV% in his lone start while Vasilevsky was 1-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and a .943 SV%.

Players to Watch

• Fleury currently sits at 550 career wins and needs two wins to pass Patrick Roy (551 career wins) for second-most in NHL history
• D Brock Faber leads all NHL rookies with 24:41 TOI per game and a plus-10 rating, is second with 61 blocked shots and T-4th with 14 assists and is third among rookie defensemen with 16 points (2-14=16)
• Rossi, among NHL rookies, is T-2nd in goals (11) and points (1112=23), third in plus-minus rating (plus-8) and is fourth in shots on goal (73)
• Petan has tallied an assist in consecutive games (0-2=2)
• Kucherov leads the NHL in points (27-36=63), points per game (1.66), is second in the league in goals and T-3rd in assists
• Point is second on the Lightning in points (17-23=40) and goals and is third on the team in assists
• Stamkos is third on the Lightning with 16 goals, T-3rd in points (16-22=38) and is fourth in assists
• D Victor Hedman is second on Tampa Bay in assists (33) and T-3rd in points (5-33=38)

Recent Transactions

Recalled D Daemon Hunt from Iowa and placed D Jared Spurgeon on Injured Reserve (1/3/24).

To view more Recent Transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

Injury Report

Foligno did not play against the Flames on 1/2 (lower body), Kaprizov (upper body), Gustavsson (lower body), F Vinni Lettieri (lower body), F Mats Zuccarello (upper body), D Jared Spurgeon (undisclosed) are on Injured Reserve and D Jonas Brodin is on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR).

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

Fast Facts

• Minnesota has earned points in 13 of its last 17 games against Tampa Bay (11-4-2)
• The Wild is on a 10-game win streak in Saint Paul against the Lightning, its longest active win streak on home ice (since 11/28/11)
• Minnesota earned its first-ever franchise win, 6-5, against Tampa Bay at Xcel Energy Center (10/18/00)

Game Notes

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