Arizona @ Minnesota preview
Xcel Energy Center
Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2024 ) Minnesota 5, Arizona 2
The Minnesota Wild will go for back-to-back victories when they face off against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild are coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon. They have earned at least one point in four straight games, posting a 3-0-1 record during that span.
In their latest win, the Wild pulled their goaltender for an extra skater in overtime to set up an all-or-nothing ending. Matt Boldy made the bold move pay off when he scored to give Minnesota two points in the standings.
"We want to be aggressive," Wild coach John Hynes said. "We want to get two points. We want to continue to fight. We believe in our group and continue to fight to play meaningful games down the stretch and let the chips fall where they may.
"So I think in the situation we're in, one point, no point, it's not going to do us any good. We've got to get two points."
Arizona is looking to bounce back from a 7-4 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday evening. The Coyotes have dropped three of their past four games, and they are 3-15-2 in their past 20 games.
Clayton Keller scored two goals in Arizona's most recent performance. Nick Schmaltz added a goal and two assists, and Barrett Hayton had two assists.
Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said his team needed to do better at limiting mistakes.
"I think our execution was off," Tourigny said. "We played solid in the first (period), but then I don't think we played as hard in the second. We were outside of our structure in every aspect defensively."
The Coyotes could turn to either Connor Ingram or Karel Vejmelka in net on Tuesday.
Ingram is 18-17-3 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 41 games (39 starts) on the season. He is 2-3-0 with a 2.17 GAA and a .937 save percentage in five career appearances against Minnesota.
Vejmelka is 8-16-2 with a 3.51 GAA and a .895 save percentage in 29 games (25 starts). He is 3-2-0 with a 3.60 GAA and a .893 save percentage in six career games against the Wild.
Minnesota will counter with Filip Gustavsson or Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes.
Gustavsson is 17-15-4 with a 3.26 GAA and a .894 save percentage in 38 games (37 starts) this season. He is 0-2-1 with a 5.60 GAA and a .745 save percentage in three career games against the Coyotes. The GAA vs. the Coyotes is his worst against any team he has faced more than once.
Fleury is 14-11-3 with a 2.86 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 31 games (27 starts) in 2023-24. He is coming off career win No. 558 on Sunday.
In 33 career games against Arizona, Fleury is 19-10-1 with a 2.11 GAA and a .923 save percentage.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno said he and his teammates have played with a worry-free mindset during their four-game point streak. It is something they will look to continue.
"Sometimes when you've got nothing to lose, you play a little bit better," Foligno said. "Right now, it feels like that's the vibe in here."
--Field Level Media