Preview: Wild vs Flyers

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild hosts the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Xcel Energy Center to kick off a weekend of back-to-back games which continues on Saturday against Arizona.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Friday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs Flyers

Wild Record: 17-19-4, 38 points, 7th in Central Division

Flyers Record: 21-14-6, 48 points, 3rd in Metropolitan Division

2023-24 Series Record: 0-1-0

Wild vs. Flyers All-Time Record: 12-15-3 (7-5-2 at Xcel Energy Center)

Last Time Out

The Wild fell to the Dallas Stars, 7-2, on Wednesday night on the road. F Matt Boldy (1-1=2) and F Ryan Hartman scored for the Wild. G Jesper Wallstedt made his NHL debut (27/34 saves, .794 SV%).

The Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout, 3-2, at Wells Fargo Center. Forwards Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost (PPG) scored in regulation while F Sean Couturier secured the win in the shooutout. G Samuel Ersson made 17-of-19 saves (.895 SV%) and stopped all three Canadien shootout attempts for the win.

What Happened Last Time?

Philadelphia won the series-opening contest, 6-2, at Wells Fargo Center (10/26). F Marcus Foligno (1-0=1) and D Dakota Mermis (1-0=1) scored for Minnesota. G Filip Gustavsson saved 29-of-35 shots faced for the Wild.

F Cam Atkinson (0-3=3) and D Travis Sanheim (1-2=3) led the Flyers with three points each. F Bobby Brink (2-0=2), Couturier (1-1=2) and F Travis Konecny (1-1=2) all registered two point nights. G Carter Hart stopped 26-of-28 shots faced for Philadelphia.

Players to Watch

• G Marc-Andre Fleury currently sits at 551 career wins and needs one win to pass Patrick Roy for second-most in NHL history
• Boldy is T-5th in the NHL with 13 goals scored since Nov. 28
• D Jake Middleton is at 199 career games played
• Konecny has six points (4-2=6) in his last five games played and leads the Flyers in goals and points (21-16=37)
• Sanheim leads Philadelphia with 21 assists (4-21=25)
• F Joel Farabee has five assists in his last five games and is second on the Flyers in points (12-18=30) and assists

Recent Transactions

Reassigned F Jake Lucchini to Iowa (1/8).

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

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

Fast Facts

• The Wild is 6-3-1 in its last 10 contests against the Flyers
• Minnesota’s five goals on March 3, 2022, set a new team-high against Philadelphia
• The Wild has posted back-to-back shutouts twice against the Flyers (last, 11/11-11/14/17)
  • The frst time was Feb. 10-12, 2003, which also marked the first back-to-back shutouts in team history
• The Wild has shutout the Flyers five times in the 28 all-time meetings – tied for its most shutouts against an Eastern Conference team

Connections

• Minnesota Goaltending Coach Frederic Chabot went 0-1-1 in four games with the Flyers in the 1993-94 season
• Hartman skated in 19 games with Philadelphia during the 2018-19 season
• F Pat Maroon was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft
• Flyers Vice President & Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr served as Wild Assistant General Manager (2009-18) before joining Philadelphia
• F Noah Cates is from Stillwater and played four seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2018-22)
• F Nicolas Deslauriers recorded three points (3-0=2) in 20 games with the Wild (2021-22)
• D Ryan Poehling is from Lakeville and played at St. Cloud State University for three seasons (2016-19)
• D Nick Seeler was selected by the Wild in the fifth round (131st overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and collected 11 points (2-9=11) in 99 games with Minnesota (2017-20)
• Brink is from Minnetonka

Game Notes

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