The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
The Wild will try for a two-game sweep of the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night when the two clubs meet for the second time in 48 hours at the Honda Center.
Minnesota secured a 3-1 victory over the Ducks on Thursday, getting a pair of goals from Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala less than a minute apart, then getting a late goal from Marcus Foligno to secure the win.
Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen wasn't tested often, but stopped the shots he needed to and finished with 16 saves to improve to 4-4-0 on the season.
Hartman's play specifically on Thursday was impressive, as the fourth-line winger scored the opening goal and was hounding pucks all night long. He played so well that he earned himself a promotion; Hartman is expected to move to the middle and center a line with Foligno and Zach Parise.
"We thought Hartzy was real good [on Thursday]," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "We feel comfortable putting him at all three positions, he's killed penalties for us very well, he's played an energy role yet has produced as well. We feel real good about him at center ice."
The Wild got several regulars back on Thursday night in Anaheim and could get a few more back, as defensemen Jonas Brodin, Carson Soucy and Brad Hunt, as well as forward Victor Rask and goaltender Cam Talbot each practiced with the team on Friday after being removed from the COVID-19 protocol list and flying to the West Coast from Minnesota on Thursday.
Their entry into the lineup won't be known until Saturday afternoon, but Talbot will not be available. Evason said he wants to give his starting goaltender at least another practice before putting him into game action, which means Kahkonen will make his eighth start of the season. Dereck Baribeau will serve as Kahkonen's backup.
Andrew Hammond is the only Wild player remaining on the COVID-19 protocol list, and Alex Stalock is back on the Twin Cities as he continues to rehab from his own stay on the list.
Fiala's goal was his fourth in 10 games this season, which has him just one off Joel Eriksson Ek's club lead of five. Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Dumba and Rask each have three goals while Jordan Greenway's 10 points is most on the team.
Sam Steel scored the lone goal for the Ducks on Thursday night, a backhanded tally in the second period that was his second of the season.
Max Comtois leads Anaheim in both goals (seven) and points (nine) this season, but the Ducks remain the lowest scoring team in the NHL at just 1.88 goals per game overall. Anaheim is one of just two clubs (Detroit) that is averaging fewer than two goals per contest.
Goaltender John Gibson surrendered three goals on 27 shots on Tuesday. He's 1-1-0 in two starts against the Wild this season, including a 1-0 shutout last month at Honda Center.
The victory moved the Wild to within one point of the Ducks in the West Division standings. Minnesota has four games in hand, however. At 14 points, the Wild will begin the day Saturday three points behind fourth-place Arizona for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division. Minnesota has three games in hand on the Coyotes.
