Jared Spurgeon skates in his 1,000th career game tonight as the Minnesota Wild hosts the New York Rangers for the final time this season at 5:00 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.3. When these two teams met back on October 20, Minnesota earned a 3-1 win that saw Jonas Brodin, Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov (first career NHL goal) all score for the Wild. In the last 17 games against the Rangers, the Wild owns a 10-2-5 record and has earned at least a point in the last three contests (1-0-2).
Minnesota, who has earned a point (3-0-2) in its last five games, is looking to rebound after suffering a 3-2 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night. Filip Gustavsson is the expected starter for Minnesota tonight. Since December 17, Gustavsson owns a 10-1-1 record with a 2.38 GAA, a .918 SV% and one shutout, and has won seven of his last eight starts (7-1-0). In five career starts against the Rangers, including the one on October 20, Gustavsson owns a 2-1-2 record with a 3.39 GAA and a .893 SV%.
New York comes into tonight’s game with points in seven of their last eight games (5-1-2) and have won three consecutive games, beating Philadelphia, Calgary and Winnipeg. Igor Shesterkin is the expected starter for New York. He has earned a point (5-0-4) in nine consecutive starts dating back to December 29, with a 2.49 GAA and a .919 SV%. In six career starts against the Wild, Shesterkin owns a 4-2-0 record with a 2.80 GAA and a .908 SV%.
Look for special teams to be a factor again in this game. New York has scored a power-play goal in three consecutive games (5-9, 55.6%), including a season-high three power-play goals against Philadelphia on March 9. On the flip side, Minnesota has not allowed a power-play goal in three consecutive games, going a perfect 12-12 on the penalty kill. Expanding on that, in its last 13 games dating back to January 27, the Wild has only allowed four power-play goals on 37 opportunities (89.2%), which is the highest PK% in the NHL over that span.
Players to Watch:
Jared Spurgeon: As mentioned, the Wild captain will be skating in his 1,000th career NHL game, all with Minnesota. For his career, Spurgeon owns 434 points (123-311=434) and has collected 18 points (6-12=18) this season.
Mats Zuccarello: Facing his former team, the Wild winger comes into tonight’s game with eight points (4-4=8) in 10 career contests against the Rangers. Over his last 11 games, Zuccarello owns nine points (4-5=9) and two game-winning goals.
Kirill Kaprizov: Has scored a goal in six consecutive home games (7-2=9), tying the franchise record, and owns 27 points (13-14=27) over his last 18 games dating back to January 17. In seven career games against the Rangers, Kaprizov owns six points (2-4=6) and has collected a point in six of those games.
