Wild goalie rotation ends with Talbot getting second straight start tonight

The Wild's goalie rotation has ended.

For the first time since Marc-Andre Fleury debuted, the Wild will start the same goalie for a second consecutive game. Cam Talbot will be back in net on Thursday against the Canucks at Xcel Energy Center after posting a 26-save shutout on Tuesday in the 2-0 win at Montreal.

"Cam played extremely well, had a shutout," coach Dean Evason said. "So, it just made sense, and we have a back-to-back. So, they're both going to play one. So, we just felt that he would roll right into this game."

Talbot is 11-0-3 over his last 14 starts. Overall, he's at 30 wins for the third time in his NHL career.

The Wild will get defenseman Jon Merrill back after he missed the previous 10 games with an upper-body injury. Jordie Benn will sit.

Matt Dumba, Jordan Greenway and Tyson Jost did skate Thursday morning, but none of them will face Vancouver. Jost (lower-body injury) is projected to return on Friday when the Wild finishes off a back-to-back at home vs. the Kraken. Dumba and Greenway (upper-body injuries) have been ruled out for both games. Whether they'll be available Sunday when the Wild plays at Nashville is unclear.

Before then, the Wild has a chance to continue its impressive run at home. The team is 10-0-1 during its last 11 games at Xcel Energy Center.

Projected lineup:

Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello

Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy

Nic Deslauriers-Joel Eriksson Ek-Nick Bjugstad

Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewar-Mitch Chaffee

Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin-Dmitry Kulikov

Jon Merrill-Alex Goligoski

Cam Talbot

Key numbers:

7: Game point streak for the Wild (5-0-2).

8: Points for rookie Matt Boldy during his career-high six-game point streak.

14: Points by winger Kevin Fiala during his seven-game point streak.

199: Career wins by Talbot.

799: Games for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in his NHL career.

About the Canucks:

At 87 points, the Canucks are four points back of the second wild card berth in the Western Conference with five games to go in the regular season. They had a six-game win streak snapped on Tuesday with a shootout loss to the Senators. Vancouver is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games vs. the Wild and 1-2-2 in the past five. Center J.T. Miller, who reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career on Tuesday, has 20 points over his last 14 games. The Canucks are 20-14-4 on the road this season.