Naughty By Necas:Martin Necas paces the Hurricanes in assists (13) and points (21) this season, and his eight goals rank tied with Sebastian Aho for second on the team behind only Andrei Svechnikov (12). Necas has already recorded more than half of his scoring output from last season (14-26-40 in 78 GP), and he also needs just one more multi-point game to match his total from 2021-22 (8).
Stellar Svech:Despite being held without a point on Thursday, Andrei Svechnikov has scored four goals in his last four games and tallied nine points in his last nine games. He ranks tied for second on the team with 18 points through 17 games this season, and his 12 goals trail only Connor McDavid (EDM, 15) and Bo Horvat (VAN, 14) for the league lead. Svechnikov has also scored two hat tricks this season, tied with McDavid for the most of any NHL player.
Homecomings & Another Return:Defenseman Brady Skjei (Lakeville, MN) and forward Derek Stepan (Hastings, MN) return to their home state for tonight's contest. Defenseman Brent Burns was drafted by the Wild in 2003 and played 453 games with the team.
Injury Report: Forward Ondrej Kase has been in concussion protocol since October 13. Goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 6. Forward Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 10. Rod Brind'Amour said Wednesday that, "Nobody's close to coming back." Teravainen and Max Pacioretty, who tore his Achilles in August, skated Friday morning at Invisalign Arena prior to the team's limited practice.
On The Other Side:The Wild have dropped three games in a row this week and lost goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury due to injury along the way. Minnesota has struggled in the goal-scoring department this year, with their 46 goals in 17 games placing them tied for 25th. Forward Kirill Kaprizov leads the way with his 19 points. Defenseman Alex Goligoski is expected to play in his 1,000th career NHL game tonight and the Wild will hold a pre-game ceremony for him.