OTTAWA — The Wild could be forced to make a lineup change Tuesday night against the Senators when its four-game tour through Canada continues.
Wild has 'question mark' vs. Senators, Cam Talbot to start
The Wild could be forced to make a lineup change Tuesday night against the Senators when its four-game tour through Canada continues.
February 22, 2022 at 5:52PM
Coach Dean Evason said the team is facing a "question mark" and center Nico Sturm will participate in warmups in the event he needs to play. Sturm was a healthy scratch last game, with Nick Bjugstad returning to action after being out since the beginning of January with a broken finger. Bjugstad chipped in two assists.
If Sturm stays out, the Wild will roll out the same lines and defensive pairings at Canadian Tire Centre that kicked off the road trip with a 7-3 win at Edmonton on Sunday. Cam Talbot will start in net after Kaapo Kahkonen had 30 saves vs. the Oilers. Talbot is 0-2 in his last two starts, getting tagged for a combined nine goals in those appearances.
Before that, Talbot had rattled off four consecutive victories.
"We came up with Cam's name here tonight," Evason said, "and then we'll see what happens from here."
This is the second and final meeting of the regular season between the Wild and Senators.
On Nov.2 at Xcel Energy Center, Ottawa overcame a two-goal deficit to take the lead before the Wild tied the game and eventually prevailed in overtime on winger Kirill Kaprizov's first goal of the season.
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewar-Nick Bjugstad
Alex Goligoski-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Dmitry Kulikov
Jon Merrill-Calen Addison
Cam Talbot
Key numbers:
2: Goals by winger Marcus Foligno earlier this season vs. the Senators.
5-3: Record for Talbot in his career against Ottawa.
6-2-1: Record for the Wild over its last nine road games.
9: Game win streak for the Wild vs. the Senators.
12: Power play goals by the Wild since Jan.22, which ranks second in the NHL in that span.
About the Senators:
Ottawa is on a two-game losing streak and hasn't won at home since Feb.8 when the team upset Carolina. Since then, the Senators are 2-4-1 overall and Ottawa is sixth in the Atlantic Division at 18-26-5. Center Tim Stutzle has three goals over his last four games. Winger Connor Brown has six points in nine career games vs. the Wild. Goalie Anton Forsberg has started twice against the Wild in his career, and he has a .931 save percentage in those games.
The Wild prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night, moving back into first place in the NHL with a hard-fought victory in their first trip to Utah. Matt Boldy scored the winner in the shootout.
