7 p.m. at Winnipeg • MTS Centre • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild, 6-3-2 on the road since the Olympic break, can close the regular season on the road with a .500, 17-17-7 record with a victory. The Wild, which closes the season with three in a row at home starting Tuesday against Boston, is 3-0-1 in its past four overall and coming off a 4-0 shutout against Pittsburgh. The Wild has won three of four against Winnipeg this season. The Jets, coming off a 4-2 win in Toronto, are 2-5-2 in their past nine at home.
Players to watch: G Ilya Bryzgalov is coming off a 20-save shutout of the Penguins and is 5-0-3 in nine appearances with the Wild with two shutouts and a 1.87 goals-against average. C Mikko Koivu has three goals and 13 points in the past 10 games. LW Zach Parise has 13 goals and 26 points in the past 24 games. RW Charlie Coyle has nine points in the past eight games. C Erik Haula is on a career-high three-game point streak. Jets F Evander Kane was a healthy scratch Saturday and has two goals and 12 points in the past 21 games. RW Blake Wheeler has a career-high 67 points and 12 points in the past 12 games. Jacob Trouba has a rookie defenseman franchise-record 10 goals.
Numbers: The Wild is 3-9 in the front end of back-to-backs. … The Wild is 26-4-7 when Parise records a point. … The Wild is sixth-best defensively in the NHL (2.38 goals against per game); the Jets rank 22nd (2.86).
Injuries: Coach Mike Yeo said C Mikael Granlund (head), G Darcy Kuemper (upper body), D Keith Ballard (groin), D Clayton Stoner (knee), G Josh Harding (MS), G Niklas Backstrom (abdominal surgery) and LW Jason Zucker (quadriceps) are out. Jets RW/D Dustin Byfuglien (upper body), G Al Montoya (lower body), D Zach Bogosian (upper body) and D Keaton Ellerby (lower body) are day-to-day. F Chris Thorburn (foot), C Mark Scheifele (knee), D Grant Clitsome (back) and C James Wright (ankle) are out.
Notes: Yeo said Granlund is day-to-day. "We're not going to rush him back. But at the same time, I haven't been given any reason to believe he won't be ready [for the playoffs]." … The Wild announced that playoff tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at wild.com. Stoner is close to skating. Yeo says Kuemper is feeling a lot better, but there is still no timetable for his return. "I'm not expecting it to be real serious, but I don't know."
MICHAEL RUSSO
