Wild at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights have been spared the lopsided drubbings that other expansion clubs have endured during their inaugural seasons -- except for their last outing. On the heels of an 8-3 shellacking, the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights look to regain their footing on Friday when they continue their four-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild.
"I was angry after the game. I got home around midnight and had a baloney sandwich and that was that. Move on. Same for our players," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said after seeing his team dismantled by New Jersey on Wednesday. Erik Haula tallied twice versus the Devils and has three goals in his last two games overall heading into a tilt versus his former team, against which he scored and set up a goal in the first two meetings. Minnesota won both of those encounters with Eric Staal leading the way, as the 33-year-old tallied twice in the third period of a 4-2 victory on Nov. 30 and collected two goals and an assist in a 5-2 romp on Feb. 2. Staal recorded 18 goals and 31 points in a 23-game stretch before being held off the scoresheet in back-to-back losses for the Wild, who are clinging to third place in the Central Division.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountains (Vegas)
ABOUT THE WILD (39-24-7): Captain Mikko Koivu scored his team's lone goal in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to Colorado, boosting his point total to eight (four goals, four assists) in his last eight games. Fellow Finn Mikael Granlund would love that goal production, however the 26-year-old registered just one shot against the Avalanche and seven total over his last six games despite notching four assists. "Maybe we're asking for him to do a little too much. I don't know. The one thing I do know is after almost two years, he will turn it around. He will get better," coach Bruce Boudreau told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (45-20-5): Gallant enjoyed a welcome sight on Thursday as both James Neal (24 goals, 40 points) and goaltender Malcolm Subban (11-3-1) participated in practice, continuing their steps toward returning to game action. "I'm assuming that both will be ready for (Friday). Not 100 percent sure of that right now," Gallant said. Neal, who has missed eight contests, was paired with Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson in practice while Subban is bidding for his first game action since Feb. 2, with Marc-Andre Fleury being tasked to make 18 of the team's last 19 starts.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota LW Jason Zucker, a Las Vegas native, has been held off the scoresheet in five of seven contests in March after erupting for 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in six games to end February.
2. Subban sports an 0-3-0 mark with a 4.07 goals-against average and .878 save percentage in three career starts versus the Wild while Fleury hasn't fared much better (2-7-0, 3.64, .880) in nine starts.
3. Minnesota Ds Jonas Brodin (one goal, three assists) and Matt Dumba (three assists) have excelled in two encounters versus Vegas.