Here is everything you need to know before the puck drops tonight.
ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (15-4-4) are back in action tonight to cap off their back-to-back. They play host to the Nashville Predators (7-12-5) for a Central Division clash.
Nashville is coming off two straight losses and are 3-3-4 in their last ten games. The Wild are coming off two straight wins and are 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
The Predators have been successful against the Wild in recent years. They are 3-1-1 in their last five games against the Wild and 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
But it has been a struggle for Nashville this year. They are 31st in the NHL in goals for per game at 2.33 and they are last in total goals. The Predators have the second-worst goal differential and the Wild are first in that category.
That being said, the Preds have the best penalty kill in the league at 89.9 percent. They also just traded their backup goaltender to the Colorado Avalanche.
Justus Annunen isn't projected to start tonight, which means Juuse Saros will likely start again. He started in the Predators loss last night.
Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette will speak to the media at 4:45 later today. We will have an update on the lineup and who starts in goal then.
For the Wild, the lineup stays the same except for the goaltender. Filip Gustavsson will start tonight, it is the Wild's only lineup change.
Here are tonight's projected lines (subject to change).
Wild's Projected Lines
Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy
Marcus Johansson - Marco Rossi - Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno - Freddy Gaudreau - Yakov Trenin
Devin Shore - Marat Khusnutdinov - Ben Jones
Defense:
Jake Middleton - Brock Faber
Declan Chisholm - Jared Spurgeon
Jon Merrill - Zach Bogosian
Starting Goaltender: Filip Gustavsson
Scratched: None
Injured: Mats Zuccarello (lower), Marat Khusnutdinov (lower), Jakub Lauko (lower), Jonas Brodin (upper)
Predators Projected Lines
Filip Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Gustav Nyquist
Steven Stamkos - Tommy Novak - Jonathan Marchessault
Mark Jankowski - Fedor Svechkov - Luke Evangelista
Zachary L'Heureux - Colton Sissons - Cole Smith
Defense:
Roman Josi - Alexandre Carrier
Brady Skjei - Nick Blankenburg
Adam Wilsby - Luke Schenn
Starting Goaltender: Juuse Saros
Scratched: Juuso Parssinen, Marc Del Gaizo
Injured: Spencer Stastney (personal), Michael McCarron (upper), Jeremy Lauzon (lower)
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Fanduel Sports Network North. Anthony LaPanta will be on the play-by-play with Ryan Carter as the color analyst and Kevin Gorg a reporter. The radio broadcast will be on KFAN FM 100.3 with Joe O'Donnell behind the mic doing the play-by-play. Tom Reid as the color analyst and Kevin Falness as the Studio Host.
Let us know what you think by commenting below or on the Forum.
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