WINNIPEG — The Wild kicks off the second half of its season Tuesday night at Winnipeg, and the team has a lengthy winning streak in the balance.
Hot Wild in Winnipeg, hoping to beat Jets for third time in three games
Kaapo Kahkonen will start in goal after Cam Talbot spent the weekend in Las Vegas — but for a good reason. He was an All-Star.
February 8, 2022 at 7:13PM
Before the All-Star break, the Wild rattled off six straight victories and is on a season-high 10-game point streak overall. Both runs are at stake against a Jets squad that the Wild has already defeated twice this season: 6-5 in overtime on Oct. 19 and 7-1 on Nov. 26 at Xcel Energy Center.
"That's the [result] we'll remind the group about tonight because clearly they will be watching tape of that regardless of how long it's been or who's in our lineup or what have you," coach Dean Evason said, referring to the previous matchup between the two teams. "They'll be ready for us, and certainly we need to be ready for them."
Winger Marcus Foligno will return for this Central Division clash after missing two games with a hip injury, reuniting one of the most dominating lines in the NHL with winger Jordan Greenway and center Joel Eriksson Ek.
Defenseman Matt Dumba (upper-body injury) remains out, and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen will start in net. He has yet to face the Jets in his NHL career.
"It's about being mentally sharp in the first period," center Nico Sturm said. "That's the biggest thing. We haven't played in six days; I'm not sure about them.
"We just want to keep going where we left off."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy
Connor Dewar-Nico Sturm-Brandon Duhaime
Alex Goligoski-Jared Spurgeon
Jordie Benn-Jonas Brodin
Jon Merrill-Dmitry Kulikov
Kaapo Kahkonen
Key numbers:
3: Goals or more by the Wild in 33 of its last 12 games.
5-0-1: Record for the Wild over its past six road contests.
7: Points for winger Kirill Kaprizov in two games vs. Winnipeg this season.
9: Goals for winger Kevin Fiala during a career-long 12-game point streak.
99: Career points for Greenway.
About the Jets:
The Jets are sixth in the Central Division with 43 points, 16 shy of the third-place Wild. In its last 10 games, Winnipeg is 2-6-2 and went into the All-Star break following a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia. Winger Kyle Connor, who was named to the All-Star Game, leads the team in scoring with 45 points. He also has a team-best 25 goals and paces the Jets in assists (20). Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 14-15-6 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
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