Game Preview: Wild at Bruins

BOSTON, MA - The Minnesota Wild looks to extend its point streak to 11 games and its road win streak to eight games tonight in Boston at 6:00 p.m. CT on Wild+ and KOOL FM 107.9.Minnesota is coming off a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night that saw Matt Boldy record a hat trick and Quinn Hughes (4-11=15) and Kirill Kaprizov (6-12=18) extend their point streaks to 10 games.

The Wild will get a boost in its lineup tonight as defenseman Brock Faber is expected to play and make his season debut after suffering a fractured skull in a preseason game against the Dallas Stars on Sept. 25.

“He’s ready to play so we’re going to play him,” said Wild Head Coach John Hynes after morning skate today. Faber is coming off a career year last season, where he posted 51 points (15-36=51) and a plus-18 rating in 80 games. A player that has been constant in the Wild lineup since his arrival has been absent to start the season, but the team has not skipped a beat. Minnesota’s 32 points on the season is tops in the Western Conference and tied with Carolina for the most in the NHL. Faber will look to join Hughes, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon on one of the NHL’s most formidable blue lines.

These two teams met back on Oct. 3, with Minnesota earning a 4-1 win. Kaprizov scored twice in that contest while Hughes and Spurgeon also found the back of the net. Jesper Wallstedt, tonight’s starting goaltender for Minnesota, stopped 26-of-27 shots faced to earn the win. Including that win, Minnesota has won five of the last seven meetings against the Bruins.

Players to Watch:

Matt Boldy: Coming off the aforementioned hat trick, returns to his hometown and the place where he scored his first career NHL goal. He owns 12 points (5-7=12) in his last 10 games.

Brock Faber: Obvious choice here. How will the star defenseman look and play after having nearly two months off while recovering from a serious injury? In six career contests against the Bruins, Faber own four points (0-4=4) and has a point (0-3=3) in consecutive games.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, November 14 at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: TD Garden (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Watch: How to Watch
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Wild at Bruins

Records:

• Minnesota Wild Record: 14-3-4, 32 points.
• Boston Bruins Record: 13-5-1, 27 points.
• All-Time Wild Record: 21-11-5 (11-5-3 at Grand Casino Arena, 10-6-2 at Boston).

Wild Leaders Against Bruins

• LW Nick Foligno leads the Wild with 26 points (10-16=26) in 56 career games against Boston.
• Kaprizov has 12 points (11-1=12) in eight contests.
• LW Marcus Foligno (3-8=11 in 34 games) and Hughes (2-9=11 in 13 games) each have 11 points.
• C Joel Eriksson Ek (1-9=10 in 16 games) and Spurgeon (3-7=10 in 19 games) have 10 points each.

Bruins Leaders Against Wild

• C Elias Lindholm has 21 points (7-14=21) in 29 career games vs. the Wild
• RW David Pastrnak owns 17 points (8-9=17) in 19 games
• D Hampus Lindholm owns 15 points (3-12=15) in 31 games
• C Casey Mittelstadt has 11 points (2-9=11) in 17 career games.

Connections

• Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin skated in 142 games in two seasons (2000-02) with Boston, collecting 129 points (69-60=129) and 213 PIM.

• Wild Head Coach John Hynes played forward at Boston University (1993-97) and helped the Terriers advance to four consecutive Frozen Four appearances and win the 1995 NCAA championship.

• Wild Associate Coach Jack Capuano played two games with the Bruins in 1991-92.

• Minnesota Assistant General Manager Michael Murray is from Dover, Mass.

• Minnesota Assistant General Manager Chris Kelleher is from Belmont, Mass., and played four seasons (1994-98) at Boston University and in one game for the Bruins during the 2001-02 season.

• N. Foligno collected 39 points (12-27=39) in 124 games across two seasons (2021-23) with the Bruins.

• LW Matt Boldy was born in Milford, Mass., and played two seasons (2019-21) at Boston College.

• D Will Borgen is from Moorhead and played three seasons at Moorhead High School (2012-15) and three seasons at St. Cloud State University (2015-18).

• C Marat Khusnutdinov was selected by Minnesota in the second round (37th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft and collected 11 points (3-8=11) in 73 games with the Wild (2023-25).

• Mittelstadt is from Eden Prairie and played one season at the University of Minnesota (2017-18).

Fast Facts

Minnesota has collected a point in eight of its last 11 contests against Boston (7-3-1), including sweeping the season series in two of the past five seasons (2021-22, 2023-24).

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