8 p.m. Saturday at Arizona • FSN, 100.3-FM

The tough part of back-to-back

Preview: The Wild wraps up a back-to-back on the road in Arizona against the Coyotes, who have defeated the Wild twice this season. In 12 previous back-to-backs, the Wild has gone 4-7-1 in the second game. Arizona has been much better since the calendar flipped to 2018. Before falling to the Predators on Thursday, the Coyotes had won five of their past seven games.

Players to watch: Rookie Clayton Keller has two goals and three assists in his past five games. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has a point in six of his past seven games. Center Derek Stepan, who's from Hastings, has 29 points in 37 home games.

Numbers: Center Matt Cullen has two goals in two games against the Coyotes this season. The Wild entered Friday's game 8-5-4 against Pacific Division rivals. Arizona is 8-3-1 in its past 12 home games. Center Christian Dvorak has a team-high seven first-period goals.

Injuries: Wild F Luke Kunin (torn ACL) and D Jared Spurgeon (right hamstring tear) are out. Coyotes Fs Zac Rinaldo (upper body) and Laurent Dauphin (lower body) are also out.

SARAH MCLELLAN