The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
Following a perfect three-game homestand, the Wild takes its show on the road beginning Monday when it plays the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Monday's contest is the first of a four-game trip in total, and the first of two games versus the Coyotes. The two clubs play again on Wednesday, before the Wild heads to California for a weekend back-to-back in Los Angeles and San Jose.
The games this week mark the final two contests of the season between the newly-minted division foes, a rivalry which will continue next season when the Coyotes shift to the Central Division upon Seattle's entrance into the NHL.
Minnesota has won five of the six previous meetings, winning all four in downtown St. Paul. Those four victories are a part of the Wild's sterling 17-4-0 record on home ice this season.
"I think we gotta keep doing what we're doing, we can't get comfortable," said Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek. "We battle hard and it's really important to get these games at home ... and have a little homestand like this, then go on the road. It builds up your confidence. We just have to keep pushing every day to get even better."
The clubs split a pair of games in Glendale on March 5 and 6 in the only games played between the teams in the desert this season.
The Wild won the opening game 5-1, scoring three times in the opening period and again five minutes into the second to open up a 4-0 lead. Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov, Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno each boasted multi-point efforts in the victory, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 24 saves.
Arizona answered back with a 5-2 victory the following night., overcoming an early two-goal Minnesota lead, which led 2-0 at the first intermission, only to see the Coyotes rattle off five unanswered goals against Cam Talbot.
The Wild won 5-2 in St. Paul in the most recent meeting between the teams last week.
Third-place Minnesota begins the two-game set with a 12 point lead in the West Division standings over Arizona, which sits fourth, one point ahead of the St. Louis Blues, whom the Coyotes defeated 3-2 on Saturday night. The Wild also has two games in hand.
The victory for Arizona over the weekend snapped a five-game losing streak that began more than a week earlier, and stretched on in road games in L.A., Las Vegas, Denver and St. Paul.
Arizona is led offensively by Phil Kessel, who has 16 goals and 34 points. Conor Garland has 22 assists and 34 points, while forward Clayton Keller and defenseman Jakob Chychrun each have 31 points.
Former Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper played for the first time in more than a month on Saturday, stopping 20 of 22 shots in the win.
Kuemper is 8-7-2 in 19 starts this season, boasting a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
