GAMEDAY: Wild at Coyotes

The Minnesota Wild skates into the Sunbelt in the first game of a back-to-back set, tonight facing the Phoenix Coyotes. The Wild is a single point behind Phoenix in the jam-packed Western Conference.  It’s the second time on the season these two teams have met in Jobing.com Arena, with the Wild getting edged by the Coyotes, 2-1.

The Wild has rearranged its lines trying to supplement offense through its top three and make a more traditional checking unit to round out its forward group. The top two lines will remain the same as the previous game. Mikael Granlund will skate between Dany Heatley and Pierre-Marc Bouchard tonight. Kyle Brodziak will center Mike Rupp and Torrey Mitchell on a checking line.  

Minnesota will use its forwards to try to get on the board first, as the Coyotes are 106-13-16 when scoring first under head coach Dave Tippett.  The Wild will also look for strong special teams play. Minnesota has the sixth best penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 85 percent. The club is 7-2-0 in games played at Jobing.com Arena when it records a power-play goal.

On Tuesday, the Wild won in dramatic fashion, topping the Calgary Flames 2-1 in overtime at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota charged from behind when Jason Zucker scored the tying goal in the third period. He redirected a Devin Setoguchi pass past Joey MacDonald for his second-career goal. Zach Parise lifted the Wild in overtime with a high backhand on the man advantage. Parise took a pass from Koivu and placed it high over the Calgary netminder. Ryan Suter added assists on both goals.

The Coyotes topped the Vancouver Canucks on the road, 4-2, on Tuesday. The Coyotes were paced by Kyle Chipchura’s two goals (one an empty netter). Mikkel Boedker and Antoine Vermette added goals for the Coyotes.