The Minnesota Wild will try to bounce back on short rest when they host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn.
The Wild are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. Minnesota failed to hold a 3-1 lead early in the third period en route to losing for the seventh time in eight games (1-6-1). The Wild have been outscored 32-15 during that span.
Wild coach John Hynes said he is confident his players can put Friday’s loss behind them.
“I thought our attack game was much better,” Hynes said. “I thought we played faster. I thought we played out of our end, we attacked, we scored some good goals. Those are all things that kind of drive our play. I thought we were a lot better in those areas.”
Arizona also is looking for improvement after losing 6-2 in its most recent game, Thursday against the Calgary Flames. The Coyotes have lost four of their past five contests.
Saturday’s game will mark the start of a three-game trip for the Coyotes. They will visit the Wild, the Flames (Tuesday) and the Vancouver Canucks (Thursday) before returning home to face the Nashville Predators next Saturday.
Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said players and staff took part in a meeting to discuss how to emerge from the recent struggles.
“We had meetings before; that was the point of the day,” Tourigny said. “We addressed the situation. The players talked more than the coaches, and that was perfect that way. …
“At some point, there must be accountability and responsibility from the players, and they are well aware of that and they take their responsibility. We have a good group. I’ve said that many times. It’s not because they don’t care. … We are all in this together.”
Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram is expected to start as his team looks to start a positive streak. Ingram is 14-8-0 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 25 games this season.
In three career games against Minnesota, he is 1-2-0 with a 2.72 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
The Wild have several options at goaltender for their second game in as many days.
Filip Gustavsson has been sidelined by a lower-body injury, and there is a chance he can return against Arizona. He is 10-9-2 with a 2.96 GAA and a .903 save percentage this season.
Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury started Friday and could be called upon to stay in net for the second night in a row. Fleury, 39, dropped to 7-9-3 after the overtime loss against Philadelphia.
The last option is rookie Jesper Wallstedt, who allowed seven goals in his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. The 21-year-old Wallstedt is a 2021 first-round pick with a bright future but is expected to return to the team’s AHL affiliate in Iowa when Gustavsson is healthy.
Minnesota is 10-8-3 on home ice this season; Arizona is 7-9-2 on the road.
–Field Level Media
