Wild Game Day number 16 Wild Record (6-7-2 14 pts) Road Record (3-4-1)
Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers (8-6-2 18 pts) Home Record (4-2-2)
Site: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports Net Plus
Last Season Results: 1/12 Wild 2 @ Flyers 3 3/23 Flyers 3 @ Wild 1
Tonight the Wild wrap up their four game road trip in Philly, hoping to get back to .500 after their 3-0 shutout win in Montreal on Thursday. The Flyers have dominated the Wild over the years going 14-6-1, including winning the last five times the teams have met. The Wild have won just 3 of 12 games the two teams have played in Philadelphia, with the last Minnesota victory coming in November of 2014.
The Flyers are coming off a 3-1 home win over the Blackhawks Thursday, and are 2-0-1 in their last three. Philadelphia's schedule of late makes them seem more like a Central Division team, as they are in the midst of seven straight games, including the next two with the Wild, against Central opponents. The first four have seen the Wild split with Chicago, beat St. Louis, and fall to Colorado in OT. Following the home and home with the Wild the Flyers will travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets.
For a long time we have heard about the up and coming Flyers defense prospects. Shayne Gostisbehere, the former Union College star, burst on the scene first two seasons ago scoring 17 goals and 46 points in 64 games. Last season 2015 former first round pick (#7 overall) Ivan Provorov was next to arrive on the Flyer blueline, playing all 82 games scoring 6 goals and 30 points, and quickly became the Flyers best defenseman.
This season Gostosbehere and Provorov are joined on the Flyers defense by rookies, Travis Sanheim (2014 first round pick,17th overall), and Robert Hagg (2013 2nd round pick, 41st overall).
The Wild will look to attack the young Flyer defense and get as much traffic in front of Flyer goalie Brian Elliott. Elliott has been hot and cold in his first year with the Flyers, winning 6 of his 10 starts with a 2.90 GAA and .903 save percentage.
Devan Dubnyk, coming off his 41 save shutout in Montreal, will make the start again tonight in Philadelphia.
The Wild lines will be the same as Thursday:
Ennis Koivu Granlund Niederreiter Staal Zucker Winnik Eriksson Ek Kunin Foligno Cullen Stewart
Suter Spurgeon Brodin Dumba Reilly Quincey
Dubnyk Stalock
Tyler Ennis played well forming some chemistry with Koivu and Granlund on Thursday. Zucker who has scored five goals (each of the teams last 5 goals) in the last two games, and compliments the Staal/Niederreiter combo giving them the added dynamic of his speed to their line.
Those two tweaks to the lines gave the Wild offense a much needed spark in Montreal, but tonight will be a much bigger challenge as they face a better Flyer team in their building.
The Wild players know that they have underperformed to this point in the season, and they are desperate to put wins together. Having won consecutive games this season only once this season.
Wild special team Notes: The Wild PK has been outstanding over the last 10 games, killing 31 of their last 34 times short, while scoring three shorthanded goals over that span. On the flip side the Wild powerplay has been almost non existent as they are in a 2 for 31 slump.
It's Always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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