The Minnesota Wild have one home game remaining before the NHL’s extended Olympic break.
On Monday night, the Wild will try to make the most of it.
Minnesota will return to home ice to face off against the Montreal Canadiens in Saint Paul, Minn. Both teams are riding three-game winning streaks, but only one squad will extend it to four.
The Wild are coming off a resounding 7-3 win on the road against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. That followed a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames and a 4-3 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, which means Minnesota has outscored teams 15-7 in the past three games.
Wild coach John Hynes said a well-rounded approach has led to the team’s recent success.
“It’s good to see us be able to get some scoring throughout the lineup,” Hynes said. “That always gives you a competitive advantage.”
A date against the Canadiens figures to pose a challenge for the Wild.
Montreal is coming off a 4-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Two days earlier, the Canadiens rolled to a 7-3 win against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, and two days before that, the Canadiens held off the Vegas Golden Knights for a 3-2 overtime win.
Now, Montreal will go for its first four-game winning streak since the second through fifth games of the season from Oct. 9-16.
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has guided his team to third place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They are only one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and three points behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning entering Sunday’s action.
“We’re playing good hockey,” St. Louis said. “And we’ve been able to correct ourselves.”
The Wild’s top scorer is Kirill Kaprizov, who has 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists) in 56 games. Matt Boldy is second with 56 points (29 G, 27 A), and Joel Eriksson Ek rounds out the top three with 38 points (14 G, 24 A).
For Montreal, Nick Suzuki is the team leader with 64 points (18 G, 46 A) in 55 games. Cole Caufield is the top goal scorer with 57 points (32 G, 25 A), and Lane Hutson is close behind on the scoring list with 56 points (9 G, 47 A).
The Wild’s options in net include Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. Gustavsson is 18-9-6 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage, and Wallstedt is 14-5-4 with a 2.72 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
Gustavsson is 2-2-1 with a 2.93 GAA and an .899 save percentage in five career games against Montreal. Wallstedt is 0-1-0 with a 4.07 GAA and an .879 save percentage in his only career matchup against the Canadiens.
Montreal’s goaltending duo includes Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault. Dobes is 18-5-3 with a 2.92 GAA and an .894 save percentage, and Montembeault is 9-8-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .868 save percentage.
The 24-year-old Dobes is 1-1-0 with a 3.10 GAA and an .870 save percentage in two career games against Minnesota. Montembeault has faced the Wild four times, and he is 1-2-1 with a 3.23 GAA and an .885 save percentage in those games.
–Field Level Media
