MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
All-Time Wild Record: 36-37-11 (21-15-5 at Xcel Energy Center, 14-22-6 at Nashville)
2022-23: Minnesota is 1-1-0 in the season series against Nashville…The Wild lost, 2-1, at Bridgestone Arena in the series-opening game (11/15) and earned a 4-3 victory at Xcel Energy Center in the second meeting (2/19)… LW Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with three points (2-1=3)…C Freddy Gaudreau (1-1=2), C Ryan Hartman (1-1=2) and RW Mats Zuccarello (0- 2=2) all have two points…G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 of 25 shots
faced for Minnesota in the first meeting…G Filip Gustavsson saved 23 of 26 shots faced for the Wild in the second game…C Matt Duchene (1-1=2) and C Ryan Johansen (0-2=2) led the Predators with two points each…C Tommy Novak (1-2=3) and D Roman Josi (1-2=3) lead Nashville with three
points each…G Juuse Saros started both games for the Predators, going 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA and a .926 SV%.
WILD LEADERS: D Alex Goligoski leads Minnesota with 26 points (5-21=26) in 41 games against Nashville…D John Klingberg has 25 points (1-24=25)
in 37 games…LW Marcus Johansson owns 14 points (2-12=14) in 19 games…D Jared Spurgeon owns 14 points (3-11=14) in 39 contests.
WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 11-9-2 with a 2.30 GAA, a .916 SV% and three shutouts in 22 career games (21 starts) against the Predators…Gustavsson is 1-0-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .885 SV% in his lone start.
PREDATORS LEADERS: C Matt Duchene leads the Predators with 35 points (10-25=35) in 52 contests against Minnesota…Josi owns 33 points (14-
19=33) in 40 games…LW Filip Forsberg has 29 points (16-13=29) in 30 games…C Ryan Johansen owns 28 points (11-17=26) in 34 matches.
PREDATORS GOALIES: Saros is 5-2-0 with a 1.71 GAA, a .949 SV% and two shutouts in seven career starts against the Wild…G Kevin Lankinen is 0-1- 1 with a 2.80 GAA and a .926 SV% in three games (two starts) against Minnesota.
FAST FACTS: The Wild is 8-7-2 against Nashville in the last 10 seasons (2013-23)…Minnesota is 5-3-1 in its last nine games at Xcel Energy Center.
INJURIES
Joel Eriksson Ek: lower body
Mason Shaw: torn ACL, out for season
Oskar Sundqvist: lower body
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/12/23 Recalled F Nick Swaney and F Sammy Walker from Iowa
4/9/23 Signed D Brock Faber to a three-year, entry-level contract
4/9/23 Recalled F Nic Petan and F Marco Rossi from Iowa
FINDING THEIR GROOVE
• Since March 1, the Wild holds a 12-4-4 record and ranks seventh in the NHL in point percentage (.700) and is tied for seventh with 28 points.
• Since Feb. 11, Minnesota is tied for third in the NHL with 44 points (19- 5-6), tied for fourth in wins and ranks fifth in point percentage (.733).
• The Wild recorded a franchise-record 14-game point streak (11-0-3) from Feb. 17 to March 15. The streak is tied for the third-longest in the
NHL this season
• Since Feb. 11, the Wild owns a .931 team save percentage and has allowed 2.23 goals per game, each the second-lowest mark in the league
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
• Since March 1, the Wild holds a 12-4-4 record and ranks seventh in the NHL in point percentage (.700) and is tied for seventh with 28 points.
• Since Feb. 11, Minnesota is tied for third in the NHL with 44 points (19- 5-6), tied for fourth in wins and ranks fifth in point percentage (.733).
• The Wild recorded a franchise-record 14-game point streak (11-0-3) from Feb. 17 to March 15. The streak is tied for the third-longest in the
NHL this season
• Since Feb. 11, the Wild owns a .931 team save percentage and has allowed 2.23 goals per game, each the second-lowest mark in the league.
• Minnesota has 19 one-goal victories this season, tied for eighth-most in the NHL.
• Minnesota is 42-7-8 (.807) this season when obtaining a lead at any point in the game, tied for the fifth-best point percentage in the NHL
in such situations.
• The Wild is 31-0-3 (.956) this season when leading through two periods, the third-best point percentage in the NHL.
• Minnesota is 15-1-10 (.769) this season in games that become tied with less than five minutes left in regulation, tied for the fourth-most
victories and is the seventh-best point percentage in the NHL.
• Minnesota has conceded less than two goals in 27 games this season, second-most the NHL. The Wild holds a 24-1-2 record when allowing less than two goals.
• In 54 games since Dec. 10, the Wild has posted a 2.40 GA/Gm average, the second-best mark in the NHL during that span.
• Dating back to Nov. 19th, Minnesota is 23-7-3 at home for a .742 point percentage, the second-most wins and tied for the second-best home point percentage in the NHL during that span.
• The team recorded a seven-game home win streak from Nov. 27 – Dec. 18, the fourth-longest home win streak in the NHL this season.
• In home games since Nov. 19, the Wild has allowed 2.18 goals per game and recorded a .925 save percentage, ranking second in the NHL in each category.
• Minnesota ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with a .659 home point percentage and tied for seventh with 25 home victories this season.
• Minnesota recorded an 11-game road point streak (8-0-3) from 2/23 to 3/29, third-longest in franchise history and third-longest in the NHL this season.
• Since Feb. 23, the Wild is first in the NHL with a .931 road SV% and a 2.43 road GAA.
ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild has converted 26.2 percent (33 of 126) of power-play opportunities at home this season, sixth-best in the NHL.
PENALTY KILLERS
• Recorded a streak of 27 consecutive successful penalty kills across 14 total games from 2/6 to 3/2. Did not allow a power-play goal in 12 consecutive games from 2/8 – 2/28, the longest streak in the NHL this season, tied for the longest streak in franchise history and tied for the 13th-longest streak in the NHL’s Expansion Era (since 1967-68 season).
NASHVILLE PREDATORS NOTES:
ALL-TIME vs. MINNESOTA
OVERALL (84 GP) 43-27-(5)-9
HOME (42 GP) 26-9-(2)-5
ROAD (42 GP) 17-18-(3)-4
LAST MEETING Feb. 19, 2023 at MIN (L, 4-3)
PLAYOFFS Never Met
− The Predators are 43-27-(5)-9 all-time against the Wild, including a 26-9-(2)-5 record at Bridgestone Arena.
− This is the third and final matchup between Nashville and Minnesota in 2022-23; it is the second of two at home.
− Nashville is 1-1-0 against Minnesota this season, earning a 2-1 win at home on Nov. 15 and dropping a 4-3 decision on the road in the last meeting on Feb. 19.
− The Predators are 3-1-1 in their last five games against the Wild; they are 7-2-1 in their last 10; and 4-0-1 in their last five at home.
− The Predators have won 11 of their last 14 games vs. the Wild, a stretch that included a seven-game win streak from March 27, 2018-Oct. 24, 2019. Nashville allowed two-or-fewer goals in six of those seven wins.
NOTABLES vs. MINNESOTA
− Roman Josi tallied 12 points (4g-8a) in four games against the Wild last season. Two of his four four-point efforts in 2021- 22 came against Minnesota.
− Filip Forsberg scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2013 vs. Minnesota. Forsberg’s 16 goals against the Wild are tied for the most he’s scored against a single opponent in his NHL career; he had 11 points (4g-7a) in four games against the Wild in 2021-22.
− Ryan Johansen has 28 points (11g-17a) in 34 career games vs. the Wild, including 18 points (9g-9a) in his last 17 meetings. He had six goals against Minnesota last season, including his first career hat trick on April 5, 2022.
− Matt Duchene has recorded 35 points (10g-25a) in 52 career games against the Wild.
− Ryan McDonagh was named Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey” as the state’s best high school player in 2006-07.
− Tommy Novak played four years for the University of Minnesota from 2015-19, winning back-to-back regular-season Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2017.
− Assistant Coach Todd Richards served as head coach of the Wild for two seasons from 2009-11.
− Wild Head Coach Dean Evason served as head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals – Nashville’s AHL affiliate – from 2012-18.
− Minnesota forwards Frederick Gaudreau (2016-19) and Ryan Hartman (2018-19) were previous members of the Predators.
LAST TIME OUT
− Nashville Predators 3, Calgary Flames 2 (SO) – April 10 (Scotiabank Saddledome)
− NSH goals: Afanasyev (1), Sanford (2)
− CGY goals: Stetcher (3), Backlund (19)
− Goaltenders: NSH – Saros (W, 42/44); CGY – Markstrom (SOL, 27/29)
− Power plays: NSH 0-6; CGY 0-4
− Notes: Nashville ended the regular season with a 20-17-4 road record… The Predators closed out their three-game, regular-season series against the Flames with a 3-0-0 record… Nashville moved to 12-8 in overtime/shootouts this season (6-6 in OT; 6-2 in shootout)… Tommy Novak scored his first career game-deciding goal in the shootout… Juuse Saros posted his fifth 40-save performance of the season… Egor Afanasyev opened the scoring with his first career NHL goal… Jake Livingstone assisted on Zach Sanford’s goal for his first career NHL point… Juuso Parssinen returned to the lineup after missing the previous 23 games with an upper-body injury.
INJURY REPORT
Player Designation Dates Missed Games Missed
Mark Borowiecki Upper body – IR Oct. 27-April 10 73
Filip Forsberg Upper body – IR Feb. 13-April 10 30
Ryan Johansen Lower body Feb. 23-April 10 25
Alexandre Carrier Upper body March 4-April 10 21
Roman Josi Upper body March 19-April 10 13
Matt Duchene Upper body March 28-April 10 8
Jeremy Lauzon Upper body April 1-10 6
Cole Smith Upper body April 3-10 5
Total man-games lost: 275
Individual man-games lost: Borowiecki – 74; Carrier – 35; Forsberg – 30; Johansen – 25; Parssinen – 23; McCarron – 20; Josi – 13; McDonagh – 11; Smith – 11; Duchene – 9; Lauzon – 9; Trenin – 5; Glass – 3; Jankowski – 3; Asplund – 1; Evangelista – 1; Lankinen – 1; Tomasino – 1
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
− April 12: Reassigned forward Egor Afanasyev to Milwaukee (AHL).
− April 10: Reassigned defenseman Kevin Gravel to Milwaukee (AHL).
− April 8: Recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from Milwaukee (AHL).
QUICK HITS
− The Predators are 15-9-2 in their last 26 games dating back to Feb. 21. Their 32 points in that span are tied for the eighth-most in the NHL.
− The Predators have scored the first goal of the game on 45 occasions this season, tied for the sixth-most times in the NHL.
− Per Moneypuck.com, Nashville is second the NHL in percentage of goals scored from rebounds at 20.4 percent (44 goals in all situations). Nashville is also third in the NHL in hits given (2,212).
− Nashville has 23 wins in one-goal games this season; only Carolina (25) and Vegas (25) have more such victories.
