Tonight the Wild continue their four game Canadian road trip in the Capital city of Ottawa! The last time these two teams met was back in 2021 on November 2nd, where the Wild won 5-4 on a Kirill Kaprizov OT goal!! But you may recall that Kaprizov’s goal was his first of the season. He had been held off the score sheet for the first seven games.
In that game, the Wild jumped out to a 3-1 lead only to see the Senators score the games next three goals to take a 4-3 lead. Marcus Foligno tied the game before Kaprizov’s heroics ended it in favor of the Wild!
The first meeting was a chippy contest between two teams who rarely see each other. The main culprit of the Wild’s ire that night was Brady Tkachuk. So expect some added fireworks tonight when these two teams get reacquainted north of the border.
Cam Talbot gets the start tonight for the Wild. Nico Sturm will take warmups according to the Athletic’s Michael Russo, as apparently one of the Wild forwards may not be a go.
The Wild are coming off their 7-3 victory over Edmonton Sunday night, the game in which the score was not entirely indicative of the territorial play. It was more a case of suspect Oilers goaltending and the Wild capitalizing on their limited number of chances.
If the Wild play the same game they played on Sunday night tonight in Ottawa, the result will most likely not be the same. The Wild were outshot 33-22 in Edmonton and still managed to score 7 goals!
Ottawa plays a more disciplined team game than do the Oilers and will match the Wild physicality. That in itself should create a very entertaining atmosphere in the Canadian Tire Centre!
It’s always hockey day in THE STATE OF HOCKEY!!