Field Level Media
14 Jan 2022, 05:25 GMT+10
The Minnesota Wild will go for their third win in a row when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night in Saint Paul.
Minnesota is coming off back-to-back victories over the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. That snapped a five-game winless skid for the streaky Wild, who had won eight in arow before that drought.
Now, the Wild will be getting back important reinforcements in the form of top scorer Kirill Kaprizov, along with forwards Brandon Duhaime and Jordan Greenway. Kaprizov sustained an upper-body injury a week ago against the Bruins, while Duhaime and Greenway were sidelined in the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocol, but all three returned to practice and are expected to play Friday.
Kaprizov has 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 32 games this season. No other player on the team has 30 points.
Kaprizov's productivity is why coaches and players were so alarmed when he was injured on a boarding penalty by Bruins forward Trent Frederic. It's also why they are so happy about his expected return after missing only one full game.
"He's obviously built firmly," Wild head coach Dean Evason said. "He's in great shape. The players are in such terrific shape they can recover quickly from those types of things, and certainly he's in that category."
Anaheim has alternated wins and losses in each of its past four games. It is coming off a 4-1 defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice Tuesday night.
This is the start of a quick two-game road trip for the Ducks, who also will visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
"I do believe our guys were trying," Anaheim head coach Dallas Eakins said after the loss to the Penguins. "They were trying to keep level-headed and neutral in their thinking coming out of the first (period). I did think we got better as the game went on, but it just took a while for us to get our feet underneath us."
This will be the third meeting of the season between the teams. Minnesota is 2-0 so far with a 2-1 road victory on Oct. 15 and a 4-3 win in overtime on Oct. 23 in Saint Paul.
Anaheim's top scorer is Troy Terry, who has 36 points (22 goals, 14 assists) in 38 games. Trevor Zegras is next with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) and Sonny Milano rounds out the young top three with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists).
After Kaprizov, the Wild's second leading scorer is Ryan Hartman with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists). Mats Zuccarello ranks third on the team with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists).
This will be the first game for Wild defenseman Jon Merrill since he signed a three-year, $3.6 million extension on Tuesday. Merrill said his family remained based in Denver for the start of the season but now can embrace its new home.
"To be able to bring my family here and for them to join me in Minnesota is really important for me and something I've been working for for years now, to give my family some sort of stability," he said. "I'm just really thankful that it's worked out here."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationOTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar says his country has enough problems and cant take in foreigners straight out of American prisons Nigeria...
Anatoly Legkodymov is facing extradition to France and 20 years in prison despite already serving one sentence in America ...
Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 12 (ANI): The three-day second-round tariff talks between Bangladesh and the United States have ended without...
Washington, DC [US], July 12 (ANI): The Beatles legend Paul McCartney is hitting the road again. The singer-songwriter has announced...
New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): A preliminary investigation into the Air India flight AI171 crash has revealed that just seconds...
ATLANTA, Georgia: The United States is facing its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with 1,288 confirmed cases so...
In the past month alone, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza—three more than the number of remaining living hostages held...
LONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...