Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. New Jersey

The essentials

The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
ST. PAUL -- With a winning homestand ensured, the Wild will aim to keep its winning streak alive on Thursday night when it hosts the New Jersey Devils at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota has won four consecutive games and has at least a point in five straight following a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. The victory closed out an outstanding month of November for the Wild, which scored more goals (59) than any other team in the NHL.
In all, Minnesota won 10 of 14 games in the month and went 10-4-1 in 15 games, the second-best points percentage in the NHL over the course of November.
Now it will try and keep that going in December, with games against New Jersey and equally hot Toronto on the docket ahead of a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Minnesota begins the month atop the Central Division and tied at the summit of the Western Conference, equalled only by the Calgary Flames, with 31 points.
"I think we've been playing well," said Wild forward Jordan Greenway. "I think that fits right where we should be, where we expect to be. We've been playing well enough to be at the top of leaderboard, so, yeah I think that's where we should be and that's where we should stay for a while."
Greenway was one of the Wild's heroes on Tuesday, scoring a goal and assisting on two others for his first three-point game as an NHLer. The goal was his first of the season, and was a nice reward for a player whose production on the scoresheet has not matched how impactful he's been on the ice.
"We think it's probably been a month he's played like that. He's gotten better and better and got rewarded with a goal and two assists," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "Honestly talking to him he was never saying he has no points or whatever. Just all business. Went about his business. But having said that, we talked about [Tuesday morning about how] it's fun to score goals. So I'm sure it was fun for him to score a goal and get rewarded for being in front of the net, doing the gritty work, physical, playing like he's playing."
Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman each had two-point nights for the Wild, and begin the month of December as two of the hottest players in the NHL.
Kaprizov leads the NHL with 14 points and a plus-11 since Nov. 18. For the season, he ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with 25 pts and tied for seventh with 18 assists.
Hartman leads the NHL with plus-15 rating since Nov. 2. For the season, he ranks third in the NHL in even strength goals (11), tied for third in game-winning goals (four) and plus/minus (plus-18) and tied for ninth in goals (12).
"I think the depth is the best," Evason said. "We're not teaching, we're not coaching any differently. I just think that we've got some depth scoring that everybody's producing. They're all for the most part playing the right way and the same way and if we do that, we feel that we'll be able to score goals. Fortunately, we have and fortunately everybody has.
"It's not one line. It's not two guys. It's not one defenseman. Everybody's involved in the offense. That's what we like, and it's more fun to play that way."
The meeting Thursday is the second between the clubs in the past week and change. Minnesota won 3-2 in a shootout in Newark last Wednesday, overcoming a traffic jam and a late arrival to the Prudential Center to close out a three-game road trip in style.
That victory started Minnesota's current active winning streak.
The Devils have lost three of their past four including that game, and the contest Thursday is the first of back-to-back games against Central foes that will conclude Friday night in Winnipeg, before the Devils head home to begin a three-game homestand.
New Jersey did get centerman Jack Hughes back from injury in a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Hughes missed the previous 17 games with a shoulder injury. Hughes got off to a quick start before getting hurt, scoring two goals in the season-opener at Chicago before assisting on a goal against Seattle a few nights later before sustaining a dislocated left shoulder.
Hughes, the first overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, celebrated his return to the lineup Tuesday by signing an eight-year contract extension as well.
The Wild enters the night riding an active six-game points streak in the series against New Jersey (4-0-2). The game Thursday marks the first between the clubs in St. Paul in 34 months.