Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Tampa Bay

The essentials

The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
TAMPA -- The Wild will play the second of a tough Sunshine State doubleheader on Sunday when it plays the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
It'll have to do so shorthanded as well, as captain Jared Spurgeon will not play in the game. Spurgeon was injured midway through the first period of Minnesota's 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
Spurgeon will be re-evaluated in the coming days, but the hope is that he won't miss much time. Minnesota is next in action on Wednesday in New Jersey.
Defenseman Calen Addison is expected to be recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Sunday. The Wild also has veteran blueliner Jordie Benn available.
Needless to say, Spurgeon's absence would be significant. His three goals is the most among Wild defensemen, as his his plus-5.
Spurgeon is also a fixture on the team's top defensive pairing and is part of both the power play and penalty kill units.

"You don't have your captain and arguably your best player against the best team in the league, it's tough," Wild coach Dean Evason said on Saturday night.
Saturday and Sunday mark the fourth time this season the Wild has played back-to-back games, with Minnesota posting a 1-2-0 record on the second of those contests so far, including a 3-2 loss in Vegas last week.
As good as Tampa Bay has been the past few years, including Stanley Cup championships in each of the past two seasons, Minnesota has had success against the Lightning.
The Wild enters the game Sunday riding a five-game winning streak over the Lightning, and has secured points in 10 of its past 13 versus Tampa Bay overall.
The last times these clubs met, during the 2019-20 season, Minnesota won 5-4 at Amalie Arena, then won another one-goal game in St. Paul a month later.
While much has changed about the Wild roster since those games, Minnesota's best players in the season series that season are each still around. Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists in those games, while Jonas Brodin and Jordan Greenway each had two assists, and Joel Eriksson Ek had two goals.
Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen is expected to get the start. He's never faced the Lightning in his NHL career.
Tampa Bay played and lost on Saturday night as well, blowing a two-goal third period lead to the New Jersey Devils in a 5-3 loss at Amalie Arena.
The Lightning led 3-1 headed to the final frame on goals by Jan Rutta, Pat Maroon and Victor Hedman. New Jersey answered with four goals in the final period, including the first three in a span of 9:34 to begin the frame. Tomas Tatar added an empty-net tally with 1:16 remaining to seal the win.
Goaltender Brian Elliott is expected to start for the Lightning after Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves against the Devils on Saturday.
Elliott is 1-1-0 in two starts this season and has allowed a total of six goals in those contests. He hasn't started since Nov. 6 when he backstopped Tampa Bay to a 5-3 win in Ottawa.
Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning offensive attack with nine goals and 18 points. Hedman and Alex Killorn each have 16 points.