MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
ST. LOUIS BLUES
All-Time Wild Record: 37-32-19 (24-13-8 at Xcel Energy Center,
13-19-11 at St. Louis)
2021-22: The Wild went 0-1-2 against the Blues…Minnesota fell 6-4 in the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field (1/1), lost 4-3 in overtime at Enterprise Center (4/8) and lost 6-5 in overtime in St. Louis (4/16)…LW Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with six points (3-3=6)…C Ryan Hartman tallied five points (3-2=5)…LW Kevin Fiala (2-1=3) and RW Mats Zuccarello (0-3=3) collected three points each…G Cam Talbot went 0-1-2 with a 5.92 GAA and a .814 SV% in three starts…LW Pavel Buchnevich (2-3=5) and C Robert Thomas (1-4=5) led the Blues with five points apiece…C Ivan Barbashev (2-2=4), C Jordan Kyrou (2-2=4) and C Brayden Schenn (2-2=4) registered four points each…G Jordan Binnington made 29 saves in the first game…G Ville Husso went 2-0-0 with a 3.92 GAA and a .892 SV% in two starts.
WILD LEADERS: D Alex Goligoski leads the Wild with 21 points (6-15=21) in 48 games vs. the Blues…Zuccarello has 15 points (7-8=15) in 24 contests…D Matt Dumba owns 13 points (7-6=13) in 30 matches…D Jonas Brodin has 12 points (3-9=12) in 40 games.
WILD GOALIES: G Marc-Andre Fleury is 9-12-2 with a 2.76 GAA and a .912 SV% in 23 career starts vs St. Louis. G Filip Gustavsson has not faced the Blues.
BLUES LEADERS: C Ryan O’Reilly owns 33 points (16-17=33) in 52 games against Minnesota…RW Vladimir Tarasenko has 30 points (13-17=30) in 33 contests…D Torey Krug has 23 points (6-17=23) in 23 games.
BLUES GOALIES: Binnington is 7-1-1 with a 2.12 GAA, a .926 SV% and one shutout in nine career starts against Minnesota…G Thomas Greiss is 5-3-0 with a 2.51 GAAand a .9.17 SV% in eight starts.
FAST FACTS: The Wild has points in 23 of its last 37 contests against the Blues
(15-14-8)…Minnesota is 7-11-7 in the last 25 games in St. Louis, including
nine extra session contests, while posting points in 14 of its last 20 games
in Saint Paul (10-6-4)…The Wild topped the Blues in the 2015 First Round,
clinching the series with a Game 6 win in Saint Paul – marking the first time
in franchise history Minnesota won a playoff series on home ice…The Blues
defeated the Wild in the 2017 First Round and 2022 First Round.
INJURIES
Brandon Duhaime: upper body
Marcus Foligno: lower body
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 20, 2022 – Dec. 30, 2022
12/28/22 Reassigned D Andrej Sustr to Iowa
12/27/22 Recalled D Andrej Sustr from Iowa and placed F Marcus Foligno on Injured Reserve
12/26/22 Recalled F Adam Beckman and F Sammy Walker from Iowa
12/23/22 Reassigned F Steven Fogarty to Iowa
12/20/22 Recalled F Steven Fogarty from Iowa
ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild have converted 31.0 percent (18 of 58) of power-play opportunities at home this season, second-best in the NHL.
• The Wild have registered a PPG in 13 of its last 17 games. Since Nov. 23, Minnesota ranks ninth in the NHL with a 27.3 powerplay percentage (15 of 55).
• Minnesota recorded a power-play goal in a season-high six consecutive games from Nov. 23 – Dec. 4, going eight-for-19 (42.1 pct.) during that span. The streak tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history.
PENALTY KILLERS
• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is seventh in the NHL with a 81.2 penalty-kill percentage (69 for 85).
• Minnesota is eighth in the NHL with a 82.8 penalty-kill percentage (48 of 58) on the road this season.
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
• The Wild recorded an active seven-game home win streak from Nov. 27 – Dec. 18, tied for second-longest home win streak in the NHL this season.
• Since Oct. 25, the Wild is tied for second in the NHL with 19 wins and tied for ninth with 39 points.
• Since Oct. 25, Minnesota is giving up 2.40 goals per game (second in the NHL), allowing 28.6 shots per game (sixth in the NHL) and recording a .916 save percentage (fifth in the NHL).
IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
• Minnesota is 10-4-0 in the month of December, ranking tied for second in the NHL in wins and tied for fourth in points (20).
ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:
CURRENT INJURIES
Scott Perunovich – Shoulder (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Oct. 4)
Marco Scandella – Right Hip (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Sep. 20)
Torey Krug – Lower-Body (Re-evaluated in 6 weeks, announced on Dec. 27)
2022-23 Total Man Games Lost: 130
Recent Transactions
December
27 – Recalled defenseman Tyler Tucker from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
27 – Placed Torey Krug on injured reserve (LTIR)
19 – Activated forward Logan Brown from injured reserve
BLUES VS. WILD
- The Blues and Wild will meet for the first of 4 matchups this season
- The Blues and Wild will also meet on Jan. 8 in Minnesota, Mar. 15 in St. Louis, and finish the season series on Apr. 8 in Minnesota
- The Blues went 3-0-0 against the Wild last season (2-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 away)
- The Blues have won 5 straight games against Minnesota and have earned points in 10 straight games against the Wild (9-0-1)
- The Blues 10-game point streak against Minnesota is tied for their longest point streak against the Wild in franchise history (Also: 9-0-1 run from Nov. 19, 2011 to Mar. 27, 2014)
- The Blues are also 13-1-2 against Minnesota in their last 16 matchups (since Feb. 17, 2019)
- Since the start of the 2019 season, the Blues have the most wins (12) and most points (25) in the NHL against the Minnesota Wild
- The Blues have also won 7 straight home games against Minnesota, dating back to Oct. 30, 2019
- Their 7-game home win streak against the Wild is the longest home win streak against the Wild in franchise history
- The Blues are 5-1-3 in their last 9 games overall since Dec. 11 vs. Colorado
- The Blues’ 5 wins since Dec. 11 share 8th in the NHL (1. Carolina, 9), while their 13 points share 5th in the NHL (1. Carolina, 18 points)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
1/3 – at Toronto
1/5 – at New Jersey
1/7 – at Montreal
1/8 – at Minnesota
1/10 – vs. Calgary
A LOOK AHEAD
- The Blues will open 2023 on a 4-game road trip, 3 of which will come against the Eastern Conference
- 6 of the Blues’ first 7 games in 2023 will come against teams who currently hold a playoff spot
- After their 4-game road trip ends against Minnesota on Jan. 8, the Blues will be at the exact halfway point of the 2022-23 season
