Preview: Wild at Ducks

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Minnesota Wild travels to Southern California for back-to-back games. Tonight's contest will be against the Anaheim Ducks before heading up the highway to face the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Tuesday, March 19 at 9:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Honda Center (Anaheim, California)
• Watch: ESPN+ / Hulu
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Ducks

Wild Record: 33-27-8, 74 points, 6th in Central Division

Ducks Record: 23-42-3, 49 points, 7th in Pacific Division

2023-24 Series Record: 1-1-0

Wild vs. Ducks All-Time Record: 44-32-7 (22-19-1 at Anaheim)

Last Time Out

The Wild were unsuccessful in a shootout against the St. Louis Blues, 3-2, on Saturday at Enterprise Center (3/16). F Kirill Kaprizov (1-1=2) led Minnesota with two points and was assisted on his goal by F Mats Zuccarello (0-1=1) and D Zach Bogosian (0-1=1). F Marco Rossi scored the other goal for the Wild. F Matt Boldy was the only Minnesota skater to score in the shootout. G Marc-Andre Fleury made 35-of-37 saves (.946 SV%) and saved 2/4 in the shootout.

The Ducks most previously lost to the Blues, 4-2, on Sunday (3/17) at Enterprise Center. Forward Troy Terry (2-0=2) scored both goals for Anaheim. He was assisted by defensemen Pavel Mintyukov (0-1=1) and Jackson LaCombe (0-1=1) and forwards Alex Killorn (0-1=1) and Leo Carlsson (0-1=1), respectively. G Lukas Dostal stopped 23-of-27 shots faced for an .852 SV%.

Previously on Wild vs. Ducks

The Wild shutout the Ducks, 2-0, five days ago at Xcel Energy Center. Bogosian (1-0=1) and Kaprizov (1-0=1) each scored for Minnesota. Bogosian was assisted by Rossi (0-1=1) and D Jonas Brodin (0-1=1). Kaprizov was assisted by F Ryan Hartman (0-1=1) and F Matt Boldy (0-1=1). Fleury stopped all 16 shots faced to post his 75th career shutout.

Dostal made 29-of-31 saves for a .935 SV% in net for the Ducks.

Players to Watch

• Kaprizov leads Minnesota with 76 points (35-41=76) and 35 goals this season, owns an active seven-game point streak (9-4=13), the second longest active streak in the NHL
  • Has 52 points (27-25=52) and a plus-17 rating in his last 34 games played
• Fleury was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the period ending March 17 after going 2-0-1 with a 0.97 GAA, .961 SV% and one shutout in three games, is 9-2-1 with a 1.92 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout in 14 games played (12 starts) since Jan. 13.
  • Posted the 75th shutout of his NHL career vs. ANA (3/14) and needs one more to tie Tony Esposito and Ed Belfour (76 career SO each) for 10th most in NHL history
• D Brock Faber leads all NHL rookies with 25:09 TOI per game, 133 blocked shots and 32 assists, and is second with 38 points (6-32=38)
  • With an assist vs. ARI (3/12), moved within one point of Boldy (15-24=39 in 2021-22) for the second-highest single-season point total by a Wild rookie
• Brodin, with an assist vs. ANA (3/14), reached 236 career points (54-182=236) and tied D Matt Dumba (79-157=236) for the third-highest career point total among Wild defensemen
  • Scored the 54th goal of his career vs. NSH (3/10), moving within one goal of Dumba and Brent Burns (55 goals each with MIN) for third-most goals by a Wild defenseman

Recent Transactions

The Minnesota Wild signed F Rasmus Kumpulainen to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2024-25 season.

To view more recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

To view Minnesota's full Injury Report, visit wild.com/injury.

Connections

• Wild Assistant Coach Jason King skated in four games with Anaheim in 2007-08
• Ducks D Jackson LaCombe is from Eden Prairie and played four seasons (2019-23) at the University of Minnesota
• F Ben Meyers is from Delano and played three seasons (2019-22) at the University of Minnesota

Fast Facts

• Minnesota won 13 consecutive games, the longest winning streak against an opponent in team history, from 1/20/21 to 12/21/22
• The Wild is 14-2-0 in the last 16 games against Anaheim
• The Wild is 11-2-0 in its last 13 games at Honda Center, outscoring Anaheim, 41-21

Game Notes

For more information on tonight's contest, check out the game notes below.