Wild vs. Flames preview: The fight to claim home ice

The Wild have lost to the Calgary Flames in both previous games this season.

April 27, 2022 at 10:00PM
Kevin Fiala (22) of the Minnesota Wild Tuesday, March 1, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ • cgonzalez@startribune.com
Kevin Fiala’s ten-game point streak ended against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. (Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

7 p.m. vs. Calgary * Xcel Energy Center * TV: BSN * Radio: 100.3-FM

Wild update: Minnesota (51-22-7, 109 points) saw its 10-game points streak end with a 5-3 loss to last-place Arizona on Tuesday. How the Wild fares Thursday and in Friday's regular-season finale vs. Colorado will determine if it secures home ice in the first-round playoff matchup against St. Louis. … The Wild is 0-2 with two blowout losses against the Flames this season, falling 7-3 at Calgary on Feb. 26 and 5-1 in St. Paul on March 1, part of a 2-8 stretch. LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-1-2) is the only Wild player with multiple points against the Flames this season. Kaprizov (45-60-105) ranks sixth in the NHL in scoring and tied for fifth in goals. LW Kevin Fiala (33-51-84) had his 10-game point streak end Tuesday. He had 10 goals and 13 assists in that span.

Flames update: Calgary (50-20-10, 110 points) is 10-1-1 in its past 12 games and has won three games in a row. LW Johnny Gaudreau (39-74-113) ranks third in the NHL in scoring, while LW Matthew Tkachuk is seventh (41-61-102). Tkachuk (3-2-5) and WR Tyler Toffoli (3-2-5) lead the team in scoring vs. the Wild this season. G Jacob Markstrom is 2-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .931 save percentage vs. Minnesota this season and is expected to start Thursday.

Injuries: Wild D Matt Dumba (lower-body injury) has missed the past 11 games but might play Thursday or Friday. D Jared Spurgeon (upper body) and RW Mats Zuccarello (lower body) are questionable. … Flames C Sean Monahan (hip surgery) is out for the season.

about the writer

about the writer

Randy Johnson

College football reporter

Randy Johnson covers University of Minnesota football and college football for the Minnesota Star Tribune, along with Gophers hockey and the Wild.

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Ethan Cairns/The Associated Press

Said Guerin: “They got three really good young players that are going to help build their team, and we got a franchise defenseman.”

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