Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Arizona

The essentials

The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
ST. PAUL --Following victories in each of the first two games of its five-game homestand, the Wild will try and keep its winning streak alive Tuesday night when it hosts the Arizona Coyotes at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota is coming off a 4-2 win over the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon, and a 7-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets two days before that, the two contests that preceded Tuesday's matchup against yet another Central Division rival.
The Wild has won three consecutive games overall and carry an active four-game point streak into the game (3-0-1). Minnesota sits atop the Central Divison standings with 29 points, four points clear of the St. Louis Blues and five more than Winnipeg.

With seven victories, the Wild is tied for most on home ice in the Central, while its two losses is tied for the fewest. Minnesota has owned this series at home of late, riding an active five-game win streak versus Arizona in downtown St. Paul, where it is 10-1-2 in its past 12 against the 'Yotes at Xcel Energy Center.
Overall, the Wild is on a seven-game winning streak in this series, the second-longest active win streak against any opponent. Over its past 32 games against Arizona, Minnesota has captured at least one point in 27 of those games (24-5-3).
The Wild won the first and only meeting between the clubs this season when it secured a 5-2 victory at Gila River Arena on Nov. 10.
Kevin Fiala had a goal and two assists in the game while Jon Merrill, Jared Spurgeon and Mats Zuccarello each had two assists.
Both Spurgeon and Zuccarello are presently injured however, with Spurgeon missing the past four games because of a lower-body injury and Zuccarello nursing a finger injury that forced him to miss Sunday's win over the Lightning.
Both players partook in an optional practice Monday, however, so their statuses moving forward aren't clear. When Spurgeon sustained his injury last week in Florida, he was declared week-to-week and out through at least the weekend.

Arizona will be playing the second of back-to-back games following a 1-0 victory Monday night in Winnipeg.
Antoine Roussel scored the game's only goal 17:59 into the third period, as Winnipeg was shut out for the second time in three games.
Goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 46 saves for his first NHL shutout after entering the contest 1-9-1 in his first 13 NHL games.
The game saw the return of forward Christian Fischer for the Coyotes, who missed the previous seven games with an upper-body injury.
While Arizona's 12 points are the fewest in the Western Conference and tied for second-fewest in the NHL, the Coyotes have played better hockey of late. Over its past seven since Minnesota's win in the desert earlier this month, Arizona has played in seven one-goal contests, posting a 4-2-1 record in those tight games.