Arizona @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 9, 2019 ) Minnesota 4, Arizona 3

The Arizona Coyotes have enjoyed a start to a week like no other, with the upstart club becoming the first team in NHL history to post road victories on consecutive nights over the previous two Stanley Cup champions. The Coyotes aim to complete their three-game road trip in style on Thursday when they bid to exact a bit of revenge against the Minnesota Wild.

Conor Garland scored his team-leading eighth goal in Arizona's 3-2 victory over St. Louis and tallied for the second time in as many nights in the shootout. "They're two really good teams this year so two big wins for us," the 23-year-old said of his team's victories over the Washington Capitals and the Blues. "And we didn't have a great homestand at all (0-2-0), so we need these points. We've got one more game in Minnesota that we need, too." Although the Wild have struggled mightily this season, they continued their dominance of the Coyotes by rallying for a 4-3 victory on Saturday in Glendale, Ariz. Minnesota owns a sterling 14-4-3 in its last 21 encounters against Arizona.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Arizona-Plus, FS North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE COYOTES (11-6-2): Clayton Keller certainly has enjoyed the start of the team's road trip, scoring a goal against Washington and doing the same while adding an assist versus his hometown Blues. Former Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper rebounded from yielding four goals for the first time in 23 starts in the loss to Minnesota by turning aside 33 of 35 shots against St. Louis. The 29-year-old is expected to make his 200th career appearance on Thursday versus the team with which he played for parts of five seasons.

ABOUT THE WILD (6-11-1): Minnesota answered its victory over Arizona by falling for the fifth time in seven contests (2-4-1) with Tuesday's 3-2 setback against Los Angeles to conclude a four-game road trip. "We've just got to be a little more dialed in, a little sharper," said defenseman Matt Dumba, who has scored in back-to-back games. "Pay attention to those details and hopefully we get a little bit better luck here. It puts a damper on the road trip, for sure." Captain Mikko Koivu scored in last week's meeting with Arizona, giving him 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 42 career games.

OVERTIME

1. Minnesota LW Zach Parise (11 goals, nine assists) and C Eric Staal (14 goals, six assists) each have 20 points in 24 career encounters with the Coyotes' franchise.

2. Arizona is 5-0-1 in its last six road contests.

3. Wild LW Kevin Fiala, who scored and set up a goal against the Coyotes, saw his four-game point streak (three goals, two assists) come to a halt on Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Wild 3, Coyotes 2