(11-7-26) Wild Vs Lightning: Goaltending Matchup

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild (12-3-3) is back in action tonight for the second of a back-to-back. The Tampa Bay Lightning (10-3-2) come in as winners of two straight.

Minnesota is coming off a 4-1 win and has points in its last seven games (6-0-1). The Wild have won three straight games and have a six-point lead in the Central Division. They are one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the NHL.

After stopping 23 shots of the 24 he faced on Friday night, Jesper Wallstedt will get the night off. Calvin Pickard will defend the net tonight for his first start at home for the Wild.

In just two games this season, Pickard is 1-1-0 with a 3.50 goals-against average and a .833 save percentage. Wallstedt leads the NHL in both wins and games played.

Pickard, 34, signed a one-year deal with the Wild in the offseason to be their backup goalie for the first couple months of the year with Filip Gustavsson on the shelf.

In his career against the Lightning, Pickard is 0-0-3 with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. He has allowed 13 goals on 122 shots in four career games.

For the Lightning, Andrei Vasilevskiy is 7-7-2 with a 2.63 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage and one shutout in 16 career starts against Minnesota.

Dennis Hildeby is 1-0-0 with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage in two games and just one start.

The Lightning are in Winnipeg on Sunday to finish their back-to-back. Hildeby will start tonight for Tampa. That leaves Vasilevskiy to start on Sunday.

Vasilevskiy, 32, is 8-3-1 on the year with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage in 12 games.

Hildeby, 25, is 2-0-1 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage in three games. He started in the first meeting between these two teams back in October.

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