The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
In a matchup of the top two clubs in the West Division, the Wild will aim to continue its winning ways on Monday night when it begins a four-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
Minnesota has won each of its past six games to move within one point of the Golden Knights in the standings, in a division that has six teams separated by just four points.
Vegas will enter the day Monday on top with 25 points and has one game in hand on the Wild, who is tied with St. Louis with 24 points. Minnesota has three games in hand on the Blues, however.
It's still too early in the season to start breaking down the standings on a nightly basis, but there's no question that the Wild's recent success has put it in a strong position. The six-game winning streak is the team's longest since a 12-game stretch of wins in December of 2016, and moved it from seventh place, where the team sat when it returned from a two-week COVID-19 shutdown, to its current perch.
The Wild enters play Monday riding the longest winning streak of any team in the League and is tied for the sixth-most wins (12) in the NHL.
Minnesota has quietly risen up the standings, but head coach Dean Evason said he isn't focused on whether he believes the Wild has been overlooked on a League-wide scale.
"I don't know how other people feel honestly. I don't read the clippings, I don't read the media and all that, so I don't know what's expected," Evason said. "I just know that our group expects to compete every night and I know the attitude within the room has been real good and that's what we're happy with."
The upcoming road trip will also introduce a couple of new teams to the Wild's schedule this season, as Minnesota has become quite familiar with Colorado as well as the three California teams. It has yet to play Vegas and the Arizona Coyotes, where the Wild will head next after playing consecutive games in Sin City.
The Wild has had its share of success against the Golden Knights, posting a 6-1-1 record in eight all-time meetings between the clubs, including a 3-1-0 mark at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights ended February on a high note, winning each of its past two games following a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Lake Tahoe on Feb. 20. Vegas flew to Denver and won at Ball Arena two nights later, saw a game in San Jose postponed then went to Anaheim and secured a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night at the Honda Center.
Vegas is ranked near the middle of the pack on a goals-per-game basis, settling in at 14th in the NHL in that regard (3.00 goals per), a couple spots behind the Wild (3.17).
Where the Golden Knights have been elite this season is defensively. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning have been stingier in the goals allowed department, and even that is by a razor thin margin (2.06 to 2.05 per game).
It's a run led by a resurgent Marc-Andre Fleury, who has carried a bulk of the load in goal as Robin Lehner has dealt with injuries. Fleury is 9-3-0 in 12 starts, with a 1.59 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage, both of which lead the NHL amongst goaltenders with at least eight starts.
Six Golden Knights have tallied at least 13 points this season, though none have more than 17. Newly-minted captain Mark Stone leads the way with 13 assists and 17 points. Max Pacioretty has a team-high eight goals.
The games begin a busy stretch of games between the teams. Vegas and Minnesota will play two games back in St. Paul starting next Monday.
