Preview: After a 4-2 season-opening win Saturday over Columbus, the Wild hits the road for back-to-back games on Long Island and in Ottawa. The Isles opened the season with a 2-0 home loss to Florida on Saturday. This will be the first game against the Islanders since Cal Clutterbuck suffered a concussion on a hit from behind by Trevor Gillies on March 2. Gillies received a 10-game suspension for the infraction.
Players to watch: Wild RW Dany Heatley, who scored the winning goal in the opener, has 14 goals and 25 points in 24 games against the Islanders. C Matt Cullen, who scored the fastest goal to open a Wild season in history (70 seconds), has 22 points in 32 games against the Islanders. G Niklas Backstrom is 4-1 with a .913 save percentage against the Islanders. Isles up-and-coming C Frans Nielsen had three assists in last year's 4-1 victory over the Wild. LW Brian Rolston was traded to the Islanders during the summer.
Numbers: The Wild is 8-4 all-time vs. the Islanders, 3-3 on the road. ... The Wild's 20 road wins last season were a team record. ... LW Guillaume Latendresse should skate in his 300th game.
Injuries: Wild D Mike Lundin (back), RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard (suspended two games) and RW Brad Staubitz (suspended) are out. Islanders LW Nino Niederreiter (groin) is out and LW Trevor Gillies (groin) is questionable.
