Preview: Wild at Red Wings

DETROIT, Mich. -- The Wild hits the ice today for the first time in two weeks, following the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Wild held stake in two of the four nations, sending five players to the tournament: LW Matt Boldy and D Brock Faber to Team USA and C Joel Eriksson Ek, D Jonas Brodin and G Filip Gustavsson to Team Sweden. Today, the Wild heads East to challenge the Red Wings in a midday matchup.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, February 22nd at 11:30 a.m. CT
• Where: Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, Michigan)
• Watch: ESPN+/Hulu
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Wings

Wild Record: 33-19-4, 70 points, 3rd in Central Division

Red Wings Record: 28-22-5, 61 points, 5th in Atlantic Division

2023-24 Series Record: 1-1-0

All-Time Wild Record: 25-30-12 (11-20-3 at Detroit)

Last Season on Wild vs. Wings

Minnesota went 1-1-0 against Detroit last season.

Detroit won the series-opening contest, 4-1, at Little Ceasars Arena (11/26). Minnesota earned a 6-3 win in the second meeting at Xcel Energy Center (12/27).

LW Marcus Johansson (2-1=3) and LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-2=3) led Minnesota with three points each. C Joel Eriksson Ek had two points (1-1=2). G Filip Gustavsson went 1-1-0 with a 3.04 GAA and a .880 SV% in his two starts vs. Detroit.

D Shane Gostisbehere led the Red Wings with five points (1-4=5). C J.T. Compher (0-2=2), LW Alex DeBrincat (1-1=2), LW David Perron (2-0=2) and C Dylan Larkin (1-1=2) notched two points each. G Alex Lyon saved 37-of-38 shots faced to earn a win in the first meeting. G James Reimer stopped 25-of-31 shots faced in a loss in the second meeting.

The All-American Connection

Wild players LW Matt Boldy and D Brock Faber played in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off alongside Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin.

Larkin and Boldy connected in the first of two matches between Teams USA and Canada, with Larkin netting a goal off an assist from Boldy to give Team USA the lead for the first time in the game. Team USA would go on to defeat Team Canada 3-1 that night (2/15/25), but fall 3-2 to Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championchip on Thursday (2/20/25)

Wild Leaders Against Red Wings

• Johansson (6-12=18 in 31 games) and RW Mats Zuccarello (6-12=18 in 23 games) lead Minnesota with 18 career points each vs. Detroit
• Eriksson Ek owns 10 points (4-6=10) in 12 matches
• Kaprizov has nine points (5-4=9) in six games

Wings Leaders Against Wild

• RW Patrick Kane leads the Red Wings with 54 career points (25-29=54) in 58 career games against the Wild
• RW Vladimir Tarasenko has 30 points (13-17=30) in 35 games
• Compher has 17 points (7-10=17) in 28 games
• Larkin owns 15 points (4-11=15) in 15 contests

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

On the Mend

Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (six games missed)

Jakub Lauko: lower-body injury (two games missed)

Connections

• D Jon Merrill collected five assists in 36 games with the Red Wings in 2020-21
• Red Wings Assistant Coach Alex Tanguay spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach for the Iowa Wild (2019-21)
• D Justin Holl hails from Tonka Bay and played four seasons at the University of Minnesota (2010-14)
• Lyon is from Baudette
• Talbot posted a record of 30-6-4 with a 2.55 GAA, a .913 SV% and three shutouts in 82 games (81 starts) over two seasons with Minnesota (2020-22)

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is 7-2-0 in its last nine games against Detroit (since 2/22/19), outscoring the Red Wings 38-24
• The Wild has earned a point in seven of its last 10 games in Detroit (5-3-2)
• Minnesota has earned a point in 17 of the last 20 meetings at Xcel Energy Center (11-3-6) and is 7-1-0 in the last eight games played in Saint Paul

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.