Tuesday, October 8, 2024

NHL Preview: Minnesota Wild (24-23-5) at Arizona Coyotes (23-24-4)

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES – ARIZONA COYOTES

All-Time Wild Record: 47-28-9 (24-13-5 at Xcel Energy Center, 23- 15-4 at Arizona)

2023-24: The Coyotes won the series-opening game, 6-0, at Xcel Energy Center (1/13)…G Filip Gustavsson started for Minnesota and stopped 13-of-18 shots faced before exiting in the second period…G Marc-Andre Fleury saved 14-of-15 shots faced in relief…C Nick Bjugstad (3-0=3) and RW Clayton Keller (2-1=3) led Arizona with three points each…C Jack McBain (0-2=2), D Sean Durzi (0- 2=2) and LW Jason Zucker (0-2=2) also recorded multi-point games…G Connor Ingram saved all 38 shots he faced to earn the shutout victory.

WILD LEADERS: RW Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild with 25 points (7-18=25) in 28 career games against the Coyotes…LW Kirill Kaprizov owns 20 points (9-11=20) in 15 contests…LW Marcus Foligno has 17 points (9-8=17) in 28 games…C Ryan Hartman owns 14 points (6-8=14) in 24 matches.

WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 17-10-1 with a 2.15 GAA, a .921 SV% and three shutouts in 31 games (29 starts) against the Coyotes…Gustavsson is 0-2-1 with a 5.60 GAA and a .745 SV% in his three starts against Arizona.

COYOTES LEADERS: RW Clayton Keller leads Arizona with 19 points (9-10=19) in 24 games against the Wild…C Nick Schmaltz owns 17 points (3-14=17) in 27 matches…D Troy Stecher has eight points (1-7=8) in 20 games…LW Lawson Crouse owns eight points (5-3=8) in 24 games.

COYOTES GOALIES: G Karel Vejmelka is 3-1-0 with a 3.76 GAA and a .891 SV% in four career starts against the Wild…Ingram is 2-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA, a .938 SV% and one shutout in four career starts against Minnesota.

FAST FACTS: Minnesota’s 47 all-time wins against Arizona are fifth-most against an opponent…The Wild is 11-4-1 against the Coyotes since the start of the 2020 season…Minnesota is 27-8-4 in its last 39 meetings against Arizona, including a 12-game point streak (9-0-3, 1/9/14-2/8/18) – the longest point streak in franchise history vs. an opponent…Minnesota is 10-4-2 in the last 16 games at Arizona… The Wild is 11-3-2 in the last 16 games played in Saint Paul.

INJURIES

Marcus Foligno: lower body

Pat Maroon: upper body

Jared Spurgeon: left hip/back: out for the season

2023-24 Total Man Games Lost: 151

GETTING WARMER

• The Wild Is 6-2-0 since Jan. 19th and ranks T-2nd in the NHL in wins and T-4th in points (12) during that span. • Since Jan. 19th Minnesota ranks second in the NHL with 30 goals scored, T-4th with a plus-nine goal differential, fifth with a 89.7 penalty-kill percentage and sixth with a 31.0 power-play percentage.

ARIZONA COYOTES NOTES:

3 HARD LAPS

• The Coyotes return to Mullett Arena in a matchup with the Minnesota Wild after defeating them at Xcel Energy Center 6-0. With a win, the Coyotes would match their longest active win streak against one franchise (Toronto – 4 W). • Jason Zucker enters tonight’s game on a three-game point streak, matching his longest point streak of the season (12/4-12/9). In the last matchup against the Wild, Zucker picked up two assists for one of his five multi-point games this season. • Nick Bjugstad faces the Minnesota Wild after netting three goals in their last matchup. Prior to his second career hat trick, Bjugstad had one career goal against the Wild.

PACK FACTS

Clayton Keller (21-28-49) was the first Coyote to reach the 20, 30, and 40-point marks this season. This is the third consecutive season that he was first on the team to reach these marks. . Logan Cooley has a point in nine home games this season (1-8-9); the Coyotes are 8-1-0 in these games. · Matias Maccelli (8-26-34) tied the ARI/WIN franchise record for most consecutive home games with a point to start a season (8 games), previously set by Igor Korolev in 1995-96. · Arizona has seven skaters with 27+ points: Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, Nick Bjugstad, Alex Kerfoot, and Sean Durzi. Seven skaters with 27+ points is tied with Boston, Buffalo, Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Tampa Bay for the fourth most on any team in the NHL (DAL – 10, CGY – 9, CAR – 9). · Nick Schmaltz (14-17-31) leads the team in PPG (8) and is second on the team in PP TOI with 158:21. · Arizona is one of four teams in the NHL with 2+ games decided in a shootout and an undefeated record in shootouts (EDM, NSH, DET). · Nick Bjugstad is tied for the league lead in GDG (2) and recorded the team’s first ENG (11/11 at NSH) and SHG (12/4 vs WSH) this season. · Sean Durzi leads the Coyotes in TOI (22:27), blocked shots (100) and also leads Coyotes defensemen in PP TOI (148:03), with second-most having 57:51. . Alex Kerfoot (8-22-30) is tied for the team lead in three-point games this season with four. He also carries the fifth-longest active consecutive games played streak at 314 games. . After missing 15 games due to injury, Jack McBain has played in 36 games this season. Among NHL players with 36 or fewer GP, McBain is one of seven players with an overtime goal. . The Coyotes hold the eighth-best PP% in road games in the NHL, coming in at 25.0%. . Michael Carcone is third on the team in goals (15) and holds the team-long goal streak this season (4 games). He currently holds the thirdhighest shooting percentage in the NHL (23.1%). . Lawson Crouse (19-10-29) is second on the team in goals and tied his career long five-game point streak earlier this season (10/24-11/4). . The Coyotes are second in the league in net shutouts (total shutouts – total times shutout) at five. . J.J. Moser is tied for the team lead in SHP (2) and is tied for the fifth-most SHP by a defenseman in the NHL. . Josh Brown lit the lamp for the first time this season against Chicago, and now sits one goal away from ten career NHL goals. . Connor Ingram recorded his fifth shutout of the season in a 38-save outing in Minnesota and is now tied for second in the NHL in shutouts. . Karel Vejmelka set a new career-long shutout sequence at 156:55 (69 saves on 69 shots), the third-longest shutout sequence in the NHL this season. . The Coyotes are one of four NHL teams with multiple comeback wins of three or more goals this season.

YOTES & WILD

-Today is the second of four ARI-MIN matchups this season. The division opponents are currently one spot apart in the Central Division standings at sixth (MIN) and seventh (ARI). – Clayton Keller has 11 points (5-6-11) in his last seven games against Minnesota and has two consecutive three-point games against the Wild. – Jack McBain has registered a point in five of his six career games against the Wild for a career average of 1 P/GP against the franchise. – Nick Bjugstad recorded his second career hat trick during Arizona’s trip to Minnesota this season. Prior to the three-goal outburst, he had one career goal against the Wild, scored in 2015 as a Florida Panther. Coyotes franchise vs Wild • All-Time: 34-43-3-4 • Home: 18-21-1-2 • Road: 16-22-2-2 • L10: 4-6-0 • STRK: W3

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