The Minnesota Wild will look to continue their domination of the Canadiens when the teams face off in Montreal on Tuesday night.
The Wild are 18-1-0 in their last 19 games against the Canadiens, including a nine-game winning streak. A victory Tuesday would mark the third time in franchise history that Minnesota has beaten an opponent 10 consecutive times, and it would tie the Canadiens’ second-longest losing streak against a single opponent.
The lopsided rivalry adds a twist to what already is an important game between two of the NHL’s better teams. The Wild’s 65 points rank third in the league, while the Canadiens aren’t far behind with 61.
The Wild have won the first two contests of their three-game road trip by a combined 11-7 score. The offensive surge over the two games has come despite the absence of Matt Boldy, Marcus Johansson and Joel Eriksson Ek — three of Minnesota’s top four points leaders.
With these key players sidelined by injuries, others — such as Marcus Foligno — have stepped up. The veteran forward had scored only three times in his first 39 games of the season before recording the first hat trick of his 15 NHL seasons in Monday’s 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Foligno was more proud of the Wild’s solid defensive work than of his personal achievement, saying his team “really forechecked and trapped up the neutral zone” on Monday.
“We didn’t really give them odd-man rushes, and that’s something that (the Leafs) really thrive off of,” Foligno said. “So that was the game plan — don’t make things easy for them.”
Minnesota is 3-2-4 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Because Filip Gustavsson started Monday’s game, Jesper Wallstedt likely will face Montreal. Wallstedt is 12-4-4 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 20 starts this season, as his impressive play has elevated the backup goalie into more of a timeshare with Gustavsson.
While the Wild are making a quick turnaround, the Canadiens haven’t played since Saturday’s dramatic 6-5 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators.
Trailing by two goals with 4:24 remaining in the third period, Montreal scored twice to force overtime. Cole Caulfield then completed the comeback by converting in the extra session.
It was the sixth time this season Montreal has won when trailing during a third period.
“We’re trying to put ourselves in situations where we don’t have to be resilient,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said, but he feels his team’s dynamic offense is well-suited to pressure situations.
“When you’re trailing, you’re chasing the clock. Your risk level goes up a little bit. … You have opportunities to make your last push, I feel, the way the game is played. And I feel we have the players to do that.”
Montreal has alternated between Sam Montembeault, Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler in net over the last month, as the team still is looking for more consistency in net. With Fowler now in the American Hockey League and Montembeault getting Saturday’s start, Dobes might be favored to get the nod against Minnesota.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 57 points (25 goals, 32 assists), while captain Nick Suzuki paces the Canadiens with 54 points (15 goals, 39 assists).
–Field Level Media
