The Minnesota Wild will host the Nashville Predators in an important matchup to close their six-game home stand. With a record of 4-6-3, the Wild are looking to build on a recent victory against the Vancouver Canucks. They snapped a five-game losing streak with a decisive 5-2 win on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Predators come into this game with a record of 5-6-3, having lost their last match against the Canucks in overtime.
Game Preview: Wild vs Predators
Recent Performances
- The Wild are 1-2-2 in their last five games.
- The Predators have a record of 1-3-1 over the same period.
Line Combinations
Head Coach John Hynes confirmed there will be no changes to the Wild’s lineup. Rookie Danila Yurov is expected to be a healthy scratch again. Below are the anticipated lines for both teams:
Minnesota Wild Lines
- Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Marcus Johansson
- Vladimir Tarasenko – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
- Marcus Foligno – Ryan Hartman – Vinnie Hinostroza
- Yakov Trenin – Ben Jones – Tyler Pitlick
Defensive Pairings
- Jake Middleton – Jared Spurgeon
- Jonas Brodin – Brock Faber
- Zeev Buium – David Jiricek
Starting Goaltender
Filip Gustavsson will be in goal for the Wild, while Justus Annunen is expected to start for the Predators.
Injuries and Scratches
The following players are sidelined:
- Minnesota Wild:
- Mats Zuccarello (lower-body)
- Nico Sturm (back)
- Zach Bogosian (lower-body)
- Scratched: Dameon Hunt, Danila Yurov
- Nashville Predators:
- Roman Josi (upper-body)
- Adam Wilsby (lower-body)
- Cole Smith (upper-body)
- Scratched: Zachary L’Heureux
Coaching Notes
Former Wild players and current Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, along with assistant coach Darby Hendrickson, will make their return to Minnesota, bringing added intrigue to the matchup.
How to Watch
Fans can catch the game on Fanduel Sports Network North. The broadcast team includes Anthony LaPanta as the play-by-play announcer, Ryan Carter as the color analyst, and Kevin Gorg as the reporter.
The radio broadcast will air on KFAN FM 100.3, featuring Joe O’Donnell on play-by-play, Tom Reid as the color analyst, and Kevin Falness as the studio host.
Conclusion
This game provides both teams an opportunity to turn their seasons around. With critical players missing, the focus will be on extracting maximum performance from the available roster. The Wild will aim to leverage home-ice advantage, while the Predators seek to bounce back after a narrow defeat.
