wild gameday
6:30 P.M. at OTTAWA • FSN PLUS, 100.3-FM
Preview: A quarter of the way into the season, and this is only Minnesota's second back-to-back. In fact, both teams could be tired, with the Wild playing in Montreal on Tuesday and Ottawa playing in Philadelphia. The Wild is 0-1 in the second of back-to-backs this season (4-1 loss at Toronto). This is its second return to Ottawa since a Dec. 18, 2009, equipment fire that destroyed much of the team's equipment.
Players to watch: F Dany Heatley returns to Ottawa, where he once requested a trade, as the Wild's fourth-line left winger. He has scored two goals and eight points in 12 games all-time vs. Ottawa. LW Matt Cooke also has a history there, slicing D Erik Karlsson's Achilles tendon with his skate last season. Senators RW Bobby Ryan had four goals and 11 points in nine games before Tuesday's game in Philadelphia. Karlsson led all NHL's defensemen with 20 points in 20 games. G Craig Anderson, who has allowed 11 goals in three starts since returning from a neck injury, may start.
Numbers: The Wild is 2-6-3 all time vs. the Senators, 1-3-1 in Ottawa. … Ottawa ranks 23rd in the NHL at 2.95 goals per game but ranks ninth with 2.90 goals per game.
Injuries: Wild G Niklas Backstrom (concussion) and D Keith Ballard (broken ribs) are out.
MICHAEL RUSSO
