NEWARK, N.J. — After three players returned from injury and illness on Sunday, the Wild will add another back into the mix on Tuesday when they kick off a two-game road trip at New Jersey.
Wild's Marcus Foligno returns to lineup, will skate on the top line
The Wild plays New Jersey to start a two-game eastern swing, and Filip Gustavsson will be in goal.
March 21, 2023 at 4:52PM
Marcus Foligno will suit up after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, joining center Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello on the team's top line.
"Obviously, he's a huge part of our hockey club," said coach Dean Evason, who mentioned the Wild still had a couple of questions about their lineup. "He's what we do. You get in, you get after it. He's physical. Plays an intelligent defensive game. He's assistant captain on our hockey club. He does a lot of things for us."
Before he was hurt March 12 at Arizona, Foligno had two goals and two assists in five games. Overall, the veteran winger has been sidelined for four of the last nine games and eight of the past 17 due to injury.
"It always takes a little bit of time," Evason said, "and I'm sure he didn't feel his timing and all that kind of stuff. But he's worked extremely hard. We don't anticipate him having any trouble slipping back into the lineup tonight."
Filip Gustavsson will get the start in net for the Wild, who are 12-1-3 over the last 16 games and coming off a 5-3 win over Washington on Sunday.
Gustavsson's last appearance was on Saturday when he surrendered four goals in the 5-2 loss to Boston that snapped the Wild's 14-game point streak. The team has an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) on the road that's the fourth longest in team history.
Projected lineup:
Marcus Foligno-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy
Brandon Duhaime-Frederick Gaudreau-Oskar Sundqvist
Mason Shaw-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Alex Goligoski-John Klingberg
Filip Gustavsson
Key numbers:
4.8: Goals-per-game average for the Wild over their last five games.
5: Points for Marcus Johansson during a three-game point streak.
7: Points for Hartman in his last six games.
9: Points for Matt Boldy during a five-game point streak.
14: Different goal scorers for the Wild March 11.
About the Devils:
New Jersey remains one of the top teams in the NHL, sitting third in the Eastern Conference. The Devils are 22-7-5 since Jan. 1. Their 49 points since then rank second in the league. Four different New Jersey players have already reached 60 points. Leading the way is center Jack Hughes, who has 81 points.
After enduring its worst loss of the season two days earlier, Minnesota turned stern.
