Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. San Jose

The essentials

The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
ST. PAUL -- Following a winning three-game road trip, the Wild will open a brief two-game homestand on Tuesday night when the San Jose Sharks come to Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota went 2-1-0 on a recent swing through Arizona, Vegas and Seattle, winning 4-2 to secure a winning trip on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Now the Wild will try and translate that success at home, where Minnesota has been good - but where it also hasn't spent much time over the first month of the season.
The Wild is 4-1-0 at Xcel Energy Center, including victories in each of their two games this month, but has spent a bulk of its early season on the road, where Minnesota has rolled up a 6-3-0 record to date, tied with Calgary and the New York Rangers for the most wins on the road this season.
With a tough road trip coming up beginning this weekend, including games at Florida (the team with the most points in the league) and Tampa Bay (the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, continued home success will be critical for Minnesota to maintain its place atop the Central Division standings.
Beginning play on Tuesday, the Wild has 20 points, one more than both Winnipeg and Nashville, and two more than St. Louis.
The meeting between the clubs is the first of the season after the Wild and Sharks competed as West Division foes during the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Minnesota went 5-2-1 against San Jose in eight meetings last season, including a 3-1-0 mark in downtown St. Paul. Mats Zuccarello led the Wild in those matchups, averaging just over a point per game (4-5--9) versus the Sharks. Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov also had four goals apiece.
Over its past 19 against San Jose in Minnesota, the Wild has captured at least a point in 14 of those games, going 13-5-1 during that span.

After a hot start to the season, San Jose has cooled off of late. The Sharks began the year with wins in each of their first four games, but have won just three times in their past 10 games.
An outbreak of COVID-19 did coincide with the Sharks' slide, however, as forwards Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier and Matt Nieto, as well as defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic all missed time on the protocol list.
All seven players, as well as head coach Bob Boughner were reinstated from the list on Friday in time for the Sharks' game in Denver, a 6-2 loss at Ball Arena.
Goaltending has also been a key, as San Jose allowed seven goals total in the first four contests. The Sharks have allowed fewer than three goals just twice in the 10 games since.
Newcomer Adin Hill has seen a bulk of the starts in goal this season, starting eight of the club's 14 games. He is 4-4-0 with a 3.11 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage after coming over from the Arizona Coyotes in a trade during the offseason.
James Reimer has posted significantly better numbers in his six starts, going 3-2-1 with a 1.82 goals-against and a .940 save percentage.
Logan Couture, Timo Meier and Brent Burns each lead the Sharks with 12 points. Couture's 12 goals and Burns' 11 assists are both club highs. Karlsson has two goals and seven points in eight games.
The game in St. Paul marks the fourth of a five-game trip against Western Conference foes that began a week ago in Calgary, then went to Winnipeg and Colorado and will conclude in St. Louis on Thursday night. San Jose is 1-2-0 on the trip so far, having lost each of the past two games and allowing 10 goals in those two losses.
Related:
- With first "season" under his belt, Wild's Evason finds himself in elite company