Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Winnipeg

The essentials

WINNIPEG -- With the NHL Trade Deadline come and gone, the Wild will embark on its sprint to the regular season finish line beginning Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place.
The Wild made two moves on deadline day,
acquiring forward Kevin Fiala
from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Mikael Granlund.
Minnesota also traded veteran forward Matt Hendricks to the Jets in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
For more on the deals, and all the other moves the Wild has made over the past month,
check out our trade tracker
.
Minnesota also
signed veteran forward Eric Staal
to a two-year contract extension through the 2020-21 season. Staal is currently riding a three-game point streak, which coincides with the Wild's three-game winning streak.
Fiala is expected to slot into the Wild's lineup on Tuesday night. He has more goals in his career against Winnipeg (four) than he does against any other NHL opponent.
The Wild enters the game on Tuesday riding a three-game winning streak following a 2-1 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.
The victory snapped a six-game home winless streak for Minnesota, just in time for the Wild to head back to the road, where it will play five of its next six games.
In addition to Hendricks, the Jets were busy on Monday, acquiring centerman Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers, in exchange for prospect Brendan Lemieux, a first-round pick in this summer's NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick.
Hayes, a 6-foot-5 centerman, is expected to slot into Winnipeg's second line pivot position. He had 14 goals and 28 assists in 51 games with New York this season and is coming off a career-high 25 goals last season.
The Jets also acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Buffalo Sabres and made a trio of minor-league moves to bolster their depth.
Winnipeg was in need of a spark. The Jets have won just three of their past 10 games and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. Losses in four of their past five overall, including consecutive defeats on home ice, have the Jets just one point clear of the Nashville Predators for the top spot in the Central Division entering the day on Monday, although the Jets have two games in hand.
Blake Wheeler leads Winnipeg with 60 assists and 72 points. Mark Scheifele has 30 goals and 68 points. Patrik Laine has 28 goals and Kyle Connor has 24 goals to go with 48 points.
Connor Hellebuyck is the likely starter in goal. He has 27-17-2 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Road warrior

Devan Dubnyk is 9-3-1 with a 2.28 GAA, a .925 SV% and one shutout in his last 13 road starts, ranking first in the NHL in road wins since Dec. 29.
The 32-year-old represented Minnesota at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game for the third time in the last four seasons (2016, 2017, 2019). His three All-Star Game appearances are the most in franchise history.
Dubnyk ranks second in the NHL in games and TOI this season.

Series notes

All-Time Wild Record: 21-13-5 (12-5-3 at Xcel Energy Center, 9-8-2 at Winnipeg)
2018-19: Minnesota is 3-0-0 after three season meetings against Winnipeg…The Wild earned a 4-2 victory in the first game at Xcel Energy Center (11/23), a 3-1 win in the second game at Bell MTS Place (12/29) and a 3-2 win in Saint Paul (1/10)…LW Zach Parise leads the team with four points (1-3=4)…D Jared Spurgeon has three assists…D Matt Dumba (0-2=2), C Eric Fehr (2-0=2), C Eric Staal (1-1=2) and LW Jason Zucker (2-0=2) each have two points…G Alex Stalock stopped 26-of-28 shots in the first contest…G Devan Dubnyk is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .945 SV% in two starts…RW Patrik Laine (2-0=2) and C Bryan Little (0-2=2) lead the Jets with two points apiece…G Connor Hellebuyck is 0-3-0 with a 2.71 GAA and a .905 SV% in three starts.
WILD LEADERS: Staal leads Minnesota with 64 points (27-37=64) in 75 matches against Winnipeg…Parise owns 39 points (18- 21=39) in 45 games…C Mikko Koivu has 24 points (7-17=24) in 34 contests.
WILD GOALIES: Dubnyk is 10-8-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .910 SV% in 19 games (17 starts) vs. the Jets…Stalock is 4-2-0 with a 1.98 GAA, a .916 SV% and two shutouts in eight games (six starts).
JETS LEADERS: D Dustin Byfuglien leads Winnipeg with 33 points (8-25=33) in 41 games against Minnesota…RW Blake Wheeler has 27 points (11-16=27) in 33 matchups…Little owns 21 points (9-12=21) in 29 contests…C Mathieu Perreault has 19 points (8-11=19) in 23 games…C Mark Scheifele owns 17 points (5- 12=17) in 24 matches.
JETS GOALIES: Hellebuyck is 5-5-0 with a 2.57 GAA, a .909 SV% and one shutout in 13 games (12 starts) vs. the Wild…G Laurent Brossoit made 15-of-16 saves in relief in his sole career action against Minnesota (1/31/17).

Did you know?

The Wild has earned points in 18 of its last 28 games against the Jets (15-10-3)…Minnesota is 6-6-1 in its last 13 games at Bell MTS Place.