Minnesota @ Anaheim preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2019 ) Anaheim 4, Minnesota 0

The Minnesota Wild are off to a dismal start to the season, in large part to dropping eight of nine games away from home. Minnesota has played at home only five times while attempting to persevere through a rugged early-season schedule that features its first 18 on the road, including a four-game trek that kicks off with a visit to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

The Wild had a three-game home winning streak snapped in a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis on Saturday and will not return to Xcel Energy Center until Nov. 14. "We have to improve on our road record, that's for sure," forward Marcus Foligno said. "What better way than to do it on a West Coast swing where you can gain some chemistry and, at the same time, pick up some big wins against some big teams." The Ducks also are coming off an overtime loss at home, falling to Chicago after rallying from a two-goal deficit to put a damper on captain Ryan Getzlaf's 1,000th career game. "I'm not sure we quite accomplished what we wanted there, but always good to come back and get back in the game," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said his team fell to 6-1-1 at Honda Center.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS North, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)

ABOUT THE WILD (4-9-1): Although Minnesota lost all three games last week, coach Bruce Boudreau -- who spent five seasons behind Anaheim's bench -- was satisfied with his team's play with the exception of an ugly 20 minutes versus Dallas. "I think if we play, for the most part, as solid as we did eight periods out of nine last week, maybe we'll get a little puck luck and things will start to go our way," Boudreau said. Forward Eric Staal is riding a four-game point streak but he has collected just one assist in his last six matchups versus Anaheim.

ABOUT THE DUCKS (9-6-1): Forward Ondrej Kase, sidelined for five games after suffering a bruised jaw in a collision with Dallas' Roope Hintz on Oct. 24, practiced Monday and hopes to return to the lineup Tuesday. A 20-goal scorer in 2017-18 who has one tally and four assists in 11 games this season, Kase said he has felt better every day, although Eakins said his availability will be determined by the medical staff. “I always believe energy is contagious," Eakins said. "We are missing that in our lineup. We are missing him, and his ability to score.”

OVERTIME

1. Ducks G John Gibson is 5-2-1 with a 1.80 goals-against average versus Minnesota.

2. Wild F Mats Zuccarello did not practice Monday but Boudreau termed it a maintenance day.

3. Getzlaf has points in five straight overall and has 35 total in 45 games versus the Wild.

PREDICTION: Ducks 4, Wild 2