Wild at Penguins
The Minnesota Wild aim to complete a two-game season sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second straight year on Thursday when the clubs reconvene at PPG Paints Arena. Minnesota, which posted a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Oct. 28, extended its point streak to six games (4-0-2) with a 3-1 triumph versus Ottawa on Monday.
Jason Zucker increased his goal-scoring run to four games and his point streak to five with his 19th tally of the season for the Wild, who find themselves in sixth place in the ultra-competitive Central Division. "It doesn't seem like anyone is really losing in our division, which is tough, and we have to make sure we keep winning from here on out," forward Marcus Foligno said. A winner of six of its last eight, Pittsburgh can echo a similar sentiment as it finds itself out of a playoff spot despite sitting just one point behind second-place New Jersey and Philadelphia in the congested Metropolitan Division. "We want to make sure we finish strong before a few days off," said superstar captain Sidney Crosby, who has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) during his eight-game point streak.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), ATT SportsNet-Pittsburgh
ABOUT THE WILD (26-17-5): Eric Staal set up Zack Parise's second goal of the season on Monday for his fourth assist in three games. Staal and Parise have routinely flustered the Penguins, with the former piercing the club for 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 52 career meetings while the latter has 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 49 meetings. Captain Mikko Koivu scored in the first matchup with Pittsburgh and set up a goal for the fifth time in six outings to raise his point total to eight (one goal, seven assists) in his last eight games with an assist on Zucker's goal Monday.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (26-21-3): Although Crosby continues to set up his teammates, the 30-year-old has been stuck on 399 career goals for four straight games. "I'm aware of it, but I would say that it's probably not something you think about during the game,” Crosby said of the milestone. "But when you're hanging around it, it seems to come up a lot more often so it's better just to get it over with." Fellow former Hart Trophy recipient Evgeni Malkin, who shares the team lead in goals (21) with Phil Kessel, scored in the first contest versus the Wild and resides one tally shy of 350 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Kessel set up Malkin's tally against Minnesota and also notched his team-leading 55th point with an assist on linemate Jake Guentzel's goal in Pittsburgh's 3-1 triumph over Carolina on Tuesday.
2. Wild C Matt Cullen makes his return to PPG Paints Arena after being part of the Penguins' two Stanley Cup teams the past two seasons.
3. Malkin has recorded 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 11 contests versus Minnesota.