Ducks at Wild
THE STORY: The Anaheim Ducks' lengthy road trip hits the Twin Cities
as the club faces off against the slumping Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
Anaheim is 1-0-1 on its eight-game trek and has earned at least one
point in eight of its last nine away from home (5-1-3). The Ducks have
been difficult to beat no matter where they play as they are 12-2-3 over
their last 17 overall contests. Minnesota enters with a four-game
overall losing streak as well as a three-game skid at home.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE DUCKS (22-24-9):
Teemu Selanne's next point will give him sole possession of 21st place
on the all-time list. The "Finnish Flash" currently is tied with Hall of
Famer Brett Hull at 1,391 points and is three behind Luc Robitaille for
20th. Selanne also needs one goal to pull even with Brendan Shanahan
(656) for 12th all time. Anaheim made a minor trade Monday, acquiring
Riley Holzapfel from Winnipeg for fellow center Maxime Macenauer. The
23-year-old Holzapfel, who has yet to make his NHL debut, recorded eight
goals and seven assists in 29 games with St. John's of the American
Hockey League this season.
ABOUT THE WILD (25-22-8):
Minnesota has struggled offensively of late, scoring a total of six
goals over its last five games (1-3-1). The club has lost five of six
overall and seven of 10 at the Xcel Energy Center, including the first
two of a four-game homestand. Brad Staubitz cleared waivers over the
weekend and was assigned to Houston of the AHL. The right wing failed to
register a point in 43 games with the Wild this season and has
collected only nine in 114 contests over two campaigns with Minnesota.
The Wild recalled defenseman Marco Scandella and forward Kris Foucault
from Houston on Monday. Scandella notched three goals and three assists
in 37 matches with Minnesota earlier this season, while Foucault has yet
to appear in an NHL game.
OVERTIME:
1. The road team has won all three meetings this season and four straight overall.
2.
Anaheim has won four straight games against Northwest Division
opponents while Minnesota has captured seven of nine from Pacific
Division teams.