Preview: Wild vs. Flames

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild takes the ice in Saint Paul tonight, hoping to take down the Calgary Flames on the 19th annual Hockey Day Minnesota. All fans in attendance at tonight's game will receive a Minnesota Wild wearable hoodie flag in celebration of Hockey Day Minnesota 2025.

The Wild is coming off of a tough shutout loss against Utah Hockey Club. The loss came as an unwelcome surprise to spectators who anticipated a restored and reinvigorated Wild team following the return of Captain D Jared Spurgeon and LW Kirill Kaprizov, but those hopes were for naught and the team was crushed 0-4.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, January 25th at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Flames

Wild Record: 28-16-4, 60 points, 3rd in Central Division

Flames Record: 23-16-7, 43 points, 4th in Pacific Division

2024-25 Series Record: 0-0-1

All-Time Wild Record: 44-44-17 (26-17-10 at Xcel Energy Center)

Last Time Out

The Wild was shut out 4-0 by the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night. Spurgeon and Kaprizov returned to the lineup and G Filip Gustavsson returned from illness. Gustavsson saved 25-of-29 shots on goal.

Calgary defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Thursday night. LW Jonathan Huberdeau found the back of the net first for Calgary. Buffalo answered with their only two goals of the game, but were quickly silenced by C Nazem Kadri when he netted a goal off the backhand to even the score. LW Jakob Pelletier brought Calgary back into the lead with a tip-in off of D Brayden Pachal and Kadri. C Yegor Sharangovich scored the next goal for Calgary, bringing the game to 4-2. C Mikael Backlund put the final nail in Buffalo's coffin with an empty-net goal. G Dustin Wolf saved an astonishing 32-of-34 shots on goal.

This Season on Wild vs. Flames

Calgary secured a 4-3 shootout victory in the series-opening game at the Saddledome (11/23).

LW Matt Boldy (0-2=2) and C Marco Rossi (1-1=2) led the Wild with two points each. LW Marcus Johansson (1- 0=1) also scored for Minnesota. Gustavsson saved 28-of-31 shots faced for the Wild.

C Martin Pospisil (1-0=1), C Kevin Rooney (1-0=1) and Sharangovich (1-0=1) each scored for Calgary. G Dan Vladar stopped 20-of-23 shots faced to earn the win for Calgary

Wild Leaders Against Flames

• D Jared Spurgeon leads the Wild with 14 points (5-9=14) in 42 career games against Calgary
• Johansson owns 13 points (4-9=13) in 21 games
• LW Marcus Foligno has 11 points (9-2=11) in 25 games
• Boldy owns nine points (4-5=9) in 10 games

Calgary Leaders Against Wild

• D Tyson Barrie (4-15=19 in 38 games) and Backlund (7-12=19 in 42 matches) lead Calgary with 19 career points each against the Wild
• Kadri owns 18 points (8-10=18) in 35 games
• Huberdeau owns 16 points (7-9=16) in 21 games

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

On the Mend

Jonas Brodin: lower-body injury (seven games missed)

Marcus Johansson: concussion (three game missed)

Fast Facts

• The Wild owns points in 16 of its last 24 games in Saint Paul (12-8-4 since 2010-11 season) and is 17-10-3 in its last 30 games at the Saddledome after starting the all-time series 3-18-4

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