ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (37-25-5) is back in action today for a St. Patrick's day clash between the Los Angeles Kings (36-20-9).
Filip Gustavsson will make his fourth consecutive start tonight against the Kings and his eighth start in the Wild's last nine games.
Gustavsson, 26, is coming off a loss and is 25-15-4 on the season with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
In his career against the Kings, Gustavsson is 2-4-0 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. His last start against the Kings was this season. He allowed four goals on 27 shots in the Wild's 5-1 loss on Nov 5.
Darcy Kuemper is projected to start tonight for the Wild. The former Wild goaltender is 22-8-7 on the season with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He is entering Monday's game on a two straight shutouts and has a shutout streak over 150 minutes.
I asked Wild center Freddy Gaudreau if the mindset switches when you play a hot goalie or not so much.
"We are focusing on playing as the Minnesota Wild and that's it," Gaudreau said. "Can't overthink the other team and can't overthink goalies. You just gotta play your own game and bring what you do best. I think what we do best is, we are a united group that plays for each other and that's all we need to bring."
Kuemper, 34, is 5-6-1 in 13 career starts against the Wild. He has a 2.82 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage in those 13 starts.