Wild-Arizona game preview
The Wild's homestand continues with three in a row against the Coyotes. When these teams faced off last week in Arizona, they split a two-game series.
March 12, 2021 at 4:20AM
The Coyotes are visiting, and they're staying awhile
Preview: The Wild's homestand continues with three in a row against the Coyotes. When these teams faced off last week in Arizona, they split a two-game series. After the Wild won the first game 5-1, the Coyotes responded with a 5-2 victory the next night. After that, Arizona visited Colorado, where it went 1-0-1.
Players to watch: C Joel Eriksson Ek is coming off the second two-goal game of his career. D Carson Soucy's game-winning goal Wednesday in the 4-3 victory over Vegas was his first goal of the season. … Coyotes G Antti Raanta made 44 saves in his last game, a 2-1 overtime loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday. RW Tyler Pitlick has three goals in his past two games.
Numbers: Six of Eriksson Ek's 10 goals this season have come in the third period. The Wild has won five in a row at home. … Coyotes LW Clayton Keller has eight points during a six-game point streak. Arizona is 5-0-1 in its past six road games.
Injuries: Wild F Marcus Johansson (upper body) has missed the past 11 games and F Ryan Hartman (lower body) has sat out the past five. Coyotes G Darcy Kuemper (lower body) is out.
Sarah McLellan
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Coach John Hynes emphasized returning to “the commitment level that it takes to win” after Minnesota's fifth loss in six games and drop below .500 in games at Xcel Energy Center.
