GAMEDAY: Wild at Anaheim

UPDATED:The Minnesota Wild will start goaltender Darcy Kuemper in net against the Anaheim Ducks. It is Kuemper's third career start.

Minnesota will also insert center Zenon Konopka onto the fourth line to center Mike Rupp and Torrey Mitchell. Kyle Brodziak will move between Dany Heatley and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Mikeal Granlund will be a healthy scratch.

Nate Prosser will also be in the lineup on the blue line, replacing Justin Falk.

The Minnesota Wild won’t get much time to bask in the glow of last night’s 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes nor the West Coast sun, as the team is right back at it tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. It’s the second time these two teams have met in Anaheim, with the Ducks claiming the first victory, 3-1, one month ago on Feb. 1.

Tonight, Minnesota finishes its fourth of nine sets of back-to-back games on the season. The Wild is now 4-0-0 in its first game on consecutive nights, and looks to earn its third sweep of back-to-back games this season.

The Wild held an optional morning skate with only a handful skaters and goalies on the ice, so we won’t know the lineup until later today. Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo will be available to the media later today so look for a Lighthouse early in the evening for confirmation on a starting goaltender and the club’s lineup card.

Last night, the Wild got off to a fast start to top the Coyotes in Arizona, 4-3. Jason Zucker got Minnesota on the board just 1:35 into the game, scoring his third of the season. Matt Cullen found the winger streaking to the net with a pretty pass. The second assist went to Devin Setoguchi. Dany Heatley scored the team’s next two goals with laser shots. The first came at the end of the first period with assists credited to Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Ryan Suter. Heatley’s second goal came in the second period after an expiring power play and was assisted by Cullen and Setoguchi. Jared Spurgeon scored the eventual game winner on the power play in the second frame, assisted by Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. Niklas Backstrom made 25 saves in the victory. 

On Wednesday, the Ducks skated to a big 5-1 home win against the Nashville Predators. 22-year-old Kyle Palmieri became the second-youngest Duck in franchise history to record a hat trick. Nick Bonino and Saku Koivu also added goals for Anaheim. Viktor Fasth made 20 saves to secure the win.