The Wild closes out a seven-game, 14-day road trip tonight against the Seattle Kraken at 9:00 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.3. Minnesota has earned a point in five of the first six games of the trip (3-1-2), earning wins over Winnipeg, Vegas and Anaheim, and getting a point in shootout losses to San Jose and Los Angeles. History shows Minnesota is ending this grueling trip in a place where it has had great success. Since dropping its first ever game in Seattle in October of 2021, the Wild has won its last six games at Climate Pledge Arena, including a 4-1 win over the Kraken on December 8. With a 12-7-3 record on the road this season, Minnesota is T-6th in the NHL in road wins and points (27).
Jesper Wallstedt gets the nod for Minnesota tonight, facing Seattle for the first time in his career. He has earned a point in all three of his starts on this trip, going 1-0-2 with a 3.21 GAA and a .891 SV%. In games played away from Grand Casino Arena this season, Wallstedt owns a 5-1-3 record with a 2.20 GAA, a .922 SV% and two shutouts.
Stopping Seattle will be no easy task for Wallstedt tonight, as the Kraken comes into tonight’s game on a nine-game point-streak (8-0-1), its longest point streak of the season. Seattle is outscoring its opponents 36-18 during its streak and has only allowed more than three goals in a game once. Kaapo Kakko has been the driving force for Seattle over its nine-game stretch, as he has nine points (2-7=9) in nine games. Former Wild center, Freddy Gaudreau, has three points (1-2=3) in his last two games and six points (3-3=6) in Seattle’s nine-game stretch.
Players to watch for Minnesota:
Kirill Kaprizov: Kaprizov comes into tonight’s game two points behind Marian Gaborik (219-218=437) for the second-most points in Wild history. Kaprizov scored a goal in the first meeting between these teams and owns 15 points (6-9=15) in 10 games against Seattle in his career.
Matt Boldy: In 11 games against the Kraken, Boldy owns 14 points (8-6=14) and has only been held off the score sheet twice. He comes into tonight’s game with a point (8-5=13) in eight consecutive games against Seattle, including a hat trick on March 27, 2023.
Joel Eriksson Ek: In the first matchup between these two teams, Eriksson Ek recorded three points (1-2=3), a plus-3 rating and a season-high six shots. In his 11 games against Seattle, Eriksson Ek owns 10 points (4-6=10) and a plus-6 rating.
