Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Calgary

The essentials

ST. PAUL --Less than two weeks after a game in Calgary left both teams unhappy, the Wild and Calgary Flames will renew acquaintances Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.
The game has a special start time of 12:30 p.m. as part of the Wild's third annual
Girls' Hockey Weekend
.
The clubs played a contentious game at Scotiabank Saddledome just nine days ago, a game where each side had a player injured.
Minnesota's Mikko Koivu left the game in the third period on a knee-to-knee hit by Flames defenseman Mark Giordano, who was assessed a two-minute minor for the hit and was then suspended two games by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Koivu has missed the past three games because of a lower-body injury but could make his return to the lineup on Saturday after practicing with the team on Friday at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center.

Later in the game, the Flames' Mikael Backlund sustained an upper-body injury when he was leveled on a clean hit by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.
Ultimately, the Flames won the game 2-0, so the Wild will be in search of getting back those critical two points in the standings. Minnesota began the day Friday with 36 points, one point behind both Edmonton and Vegas, who currently hold the two wild-card positions in the Western Conference.
The Wild has two games in hand on the Golden Knights and one on the Oilers.
The game marks the beginning of a three-game road trip for the Pacific Division-leading Flames, who play in St. Louis on Sunday and in Dallas on Tuesday before returning home for two games prior to the holiday.
Since the win over the Wild on Dec. 6, the Flames have remained hot, scoring wins against Nashville and Philadelphia while dropping a one-goal effort in Edmonton.
Overall, the Flames have won seven of their past nine, including five of the six games they've played since the beginning of the month.
Calgary has five players with at least 32 points this season, including Johnny Gaudreau, who leads the club with 42 points and 29 assists. Elias Lindholm, who scored both goals for the Flames in the win earlier this season, has a team-leading 16 lamp-lighters on the campaign so far.
Want more Wild headlines? [Sign up for e-News]

El Niño

Nino Niederreiter recorded three points (2-1=3) Thursday, including the game-winning goal, for his eighth career three-point game and his 14th career multi-goal game. He owns eight points (5-3=8) in the last nine games and 18 points (7-11=18) in 31 games this season.
- The winger's three point night also extended his goal and point streak to three games (4-1=5). The goal streak is his longest of the season and the longest since registering his career-best six-game goal streak (11/14-11/24/17). - His game-winning goal Thursday ties him with Roman Josi (NSH) for most GWG by a Swiss-born NHL player (16). He also leads all Swiss natives with 110 career goals.

Series notes

2018-19: Minnesota fell in its first season meeting against Calgary, 2-0, at Scotiabank Saddledome (12/6)…G Alex Stalock stopped 18-of-20 shots… Lindholm (2-0=2), Gaudreau (0-2=2) and Giordano (0-2=2) each led the Flames with two points… Smith made all 31 saves.
WILD LEADERS: Koivu leads the Wild with 36 points (13-23=36) in 63 games vs. Calgary…D Ryan Suter owns 23 points (4-19=23) in 49 matches…LW Zach Parise owns 21 points (13-8=21) in 22 games…D Jared Spurgeon has 11 points (5-6=11) in 29 contests…C Eric Staal owns 10 points (4-6=10) in 19 matches…C Charlie Coyle has nine points (2-7=9) in 20 games.
WILD GOALIES:G Devan Dubnyk is 11-7-4 with a 2.23 GAA, .923 SV% and two shutouts in 25 games (24 starts) against the Flames…Stalock is 3-3-3 with a 2.43 GAA and a .903 SV% in 10 games (eight starts).
FLAMES LEADERS: Giordano leads the Flames with 20 points (6-14=20) in 43 games vs. Minnesota…LW James Neal owns 13 points (8-5=13) in 26 matches…RW Michael Frolik has 10 points (5-5=10) in 27 games…C Mikael Backlund owns 10 points (5-5=10) in 29 contests.
FLAMES GOALIES: Smith is 6-11-2 with a 2.18 GAA, a .921 SV% and three shutouts in 20 games (18 starts) against the Wild…G David Rittich has not faced Minnesota.

Did you know?

The Wild owns points in 23 of its last 31 games against Calgary played in St. Paul (17-8-6).

Girls Hockey Weekend

Minnesota is in the midst of hosting the third annual Girls' Hockey Weekend, presented in conjunction with Schwan's Home Service, Inc., Minnesota Hockey, USA Hockey, the WCHA and the Minnesota Whitecaps, at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild will dedicate several elements of Saturday's game to celebrating girls' and women's hockey. Laura Halldorson will make the "Let's Play Hockey!" announcement, and girls' and women's hockey players will participate in various intermission activities. Proceeds from Wild game program sales and the "Split the Pot Raffle" will benefit the Minnesota Whitecaps, the first and only women's professional hockey team in the State of Hockey. In addition, Hannah Brandt from the Minnesota Whitecaps
practiced with the Wild
on Friday at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center.
The Wild is hosting dryland training sessions and on-ice clinics for 12U, 10U and 8U girls' hockey players Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, as well. Minnesota Hockey personnel, along with Minnesota Whitecaps players and WCHA players, will help lead the clinics.