Marc-Andre Fleury is scheduled to be in net on Tuesday night when the Wild vies for a seventh straight win at Xcel Energy Center against the Flyers.
Marc-Andre Fleury back in net for Wild; St. Cloud State's Sam Hentges signs
Former UMD captain Noah Cates is set to make his NHL debut for Philadelphia against the Wild tonight at the X.
March 29, 2022 at 5:27PM
That's the only lineup change the Wild is making after a 3-2 overtime victory over the Avalanche on Sunday; defensemen Alex Goligoski and Jordie Benn and forwards Nick Bjugstad and Connor Dewar remain the scratches.
This will be Fleury's second start with the Wild; he won his debut on Saturday, 3-2 in overtime vs. the Blue Jackets. Fleury's 30 career wins against Philadelphia are the most of any active goalie.
"They're going to play free, and we can't," Wild coach Dean Evason said of the Flyers, who suffered a 5-4 loss to the Wild on March 3. "We can't afford to do that. One, we can't afford to do that because we don't want to get in any type of bad habits. And two, past has shown that that's not how our hockey club has success."
Cates to debut
For Philadelphia, former Minnesota Duluth captain Noah Cates is set to make his NHL debut after signing with the team on Sunday.
The Stillwater native said he has "a ton" of family and friends coming to the game, including his teammates from Minnesota Duluth.
"Gotta maybe tone it down a little bit," Cates said. "Not get too amped out there. Just play my game, play smart, gain the trust of teammates and coaches. From this point on now, my professional career is starting and I think that's a huge thing with having a long career is gaining the trust of teammates and coaches and being a reliable guy from here on out."
Hentges signed
The Wild also announced the signing of Sam Hentges, a St. Cloud State forward who, like Cates, was on the U.S. Olympic team. His two-year deal will start next season.
In four years with the Huskies, Hentges had 37 goals and 46 assists. The New Brighton native was a seventh-round (210th overall) pick in 2018
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Nic Deslauriers-Tyson Jost-Brandon Duhaime
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill-Dmitry Kulikov
Marc-Andre Fleury
Key numbers:
3: Winning streaks of at least six games this season for the Wild.
4: Goals by winger Kirill Kaprizov over his past three games.
4-2:Record for the Wild against the Flyers in their last six matchups.
13: Points for center Ryan Hartman over his past 13 contests.
8-1-1: Run by the Wild over its last 10 games.
About the Flyers:
Philadelphia is finishing up a five-game road trip in which it's 1-3. Last game, the Flyers fell 5-4 to the Predators. Overall, they're 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. Winger Cam Atkinson leads the team in goals with 23 and points (50). Over his last 34 games, Atkinson has racked up 30 of those points.
A 7-1 loss to Edmonton came with back-to-back home games just ahead and another injury in place, as the Wild placed defenseman Jake Middleton on IR and claimed veteran Travis Dermott off waivers.
