Wild vs Ducks: Game Preview

ST. PAUL - The Wild (21-22-5) host the Anaheim Ducks (16-30-2) tonight for a game on Hockey Day Minnesota before the NHL All-Star break.

After dropping a winnable game that the Wild had in their fingertips on Thursday, Minnesota is back at it tonight hosting the Ducks who are 3-6-1 in their last ten games. 

Filip Gustavsson was on the ice this morning for morning skate and is expected to start despite missing practice yesterday. Mats Zuccarello was on the ice as well but missed yesterday's practice due to an illness. Zuccarello is expected to play tonight. 

Vinni Lettieri and Adam Raska were also on the ice for morning skate but are expected to not play tonight. Marc-Andre Fleury who has been out with an upper-body injury, was on the ice as well but isn't expected to be ready until after the All-Star break. Jesper Wallstedt will back up Gustavsson tonight. 

The rest of the lines for the Wild will be the same. Jon Merrill will sit out his seventh straight game as a healthy scratch. 

The Wild will play the last game of today's long schedule of games here on Hockey Day in Minnesota, a state holiday many hockey fans celebrate. Minnesota has historically done well on Hockey Day Minnesota with a record of 14-2-1. They are 7-0-0 since 2017.

Kaprizov - Rossi - Zuccarello

Boldy - Eriksson Ek - Foligno

Johansson - Hartman - Maroon

Duhaime - Lucchini - Gaudreau

Defense Pairs:

Brodin - Faber

Middleton - Mermis

Goligoski - Bogosian

Starting Goaltender: Gustavsson

Scratched: D Jon Merrill

Adam Henrique - Leo Carlsson - Troy Terry

Isac Lundestrom - Mason McTavish - Jakob Silfverberg

Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Brett Leason 

Ross Johnston - Sam Carrick - Brock McGinn

Defense Pairs:

Cam Fowler - Jackson LaCombe

Urho Vaakanainen - Radko Gudas

Owen Zellweger - Robert Hagg

Starting Goaltender: Lukas Dostal

Scratched: F Bo Groulx, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Gustav Lindstrom