The Wild and Red Wings meet for the final time this afternoon at 12:00 p.m. CT on TNT and KFAN FM 100.3. In the first meeting between the two teams, Minnesota earned a 4-3 overtime win that saw Kirill Kaprizov score twice, including the game-winning goal in overtime. Mats Zuccarello also found the back of the net twice, while Filip Gustavsson earned the win, stopping 30-of-33 shots faced. Minnesota is looking to sweep the season series over Detroit and join Pittsburgh, Vegas and Utah as the only teams to go unbeaten against the Red Wings, per Stats Perform.
Both teams come into today’s game on the second leg of a back-to-back, that saw Minnesota beat Ottawa, 4-1 yesterday, while Detroit fell to the Rangers, 4-1. Like the matchup against Ottawa yesterday, the Wild will be facing a desperate Red Wings team who is currently tied with Ottawa, Philadelphia and Columbus for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with 88 points. In the second game of a back-to-back, the Wild owns a 3-5-6 record while Detroit is 3-6-4.
Filip Gustavsson is the expected starter for Minnesota today. He earned a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in his last outing on April 2, which also marked his 100th win as a member of the Minnesota Wild. Over his last 14 starts, Gustavsson owns a 10-4-0 record with a 2.43 GAA, a .913 SV% and one shutout. Cam Talbot is the expected starter for Detroit. The former Wild goaltender owns a 12-8-5 record on the season with a 3.01 GAA and a .892 SV%.
Players to Watch:
Matt Boldy: The birthday boy will look to continue his success against the Red Wings, as he has collected 10 points (7-3=10) in eight career games. According to Stats Perform, he is one of 11 players to have seven goals in his first seven games against Detroit.
