The Wild closes out its two-game Florida trip tonight against the Panthers at 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN and KFAN FM 100.3. These two teams met back on Hockey Day Minnesota (Jan. 24), with Florida earning a 4-3 overtime win. Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov all scored for Minnesota in that game. Minnesota outshot Florida 34 to 21 and both teams went two-for-six on the power-play.
Tonight marks a milestone game for Quinn Hughes as he will skate in his 500th career NHL game. He enters tonight’s game with 479 career points (65-414=479). Per Stats Perform, Hughes is only the third defenseman in NHL history to record more than 400 assists through his first 500 games. He will look to add that total tonight as he comes into tonight’s game with 11 points (2-9=11) in 12 career games against Florida and has a recorded a point (1-7=8) in four consecutive contests against the Panthers.
Some lineup changes are taking place tonight for Minnesota as Marcus Foligno returns and will be on a line with his brother Nick and Yakov Trenin. This marks the first time Marcus and Nick will appear in an NHL game together on the same team. Danila Yurov and Zach Bogosian will get a night off as Jeff Petry will slot in for Bogosian and skate in his second game with Wild. Jesper Wallstedt will be in net for Minnesota tonight. He comes into tonight’s contest with a 7-3-4 record on the road with a 2.59 GAA, a .915 SV% and two shutouts. This marks the first time Wallstedt faces Florida in his career.
Players to Watch:
