Sharks at Wild
After letting a third-period lead go by the boards on Monday, the Minnesota Wild staged an impressive rally in the final session of regulation the following night to record their third win in four games. The Wild look to continue their good fortune when they open a three-game homestand against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. "The way it all worked out, we're really not too disappointed," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said of his team's 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers and 4 -3 victory over Boston. "We learned a couple of lessons on the trip."
San Jose has enjoyed the first two legs of its three-game road trip, skating to a 4-1 triumph over Anaheim on Sunday before posting a 3-2 shootout victory against Colorado two nights later. Joe Pavelski registered a game-high 10 of his team's 51 shots on goal before converting in the second round of the bonus format on Tuesday. Former Wild defenseman Brent Burns also tallied in regulation to extend his goal streak to three games and point stretch to five.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), FSN North Plus, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (6-4-1): Antti Niemi has turned aside 64-of-67 shots in the last two contests and owns an impressive 8-3-1 career record versus Minnesota with a slim 1.83 goals-against average. Logan Couture scored against the Avalanche and has collected five goals and as many assists in his last seven contests. Patrick Marleau hasn't tallied since Oct. 18 but has five assists in the last six games and shares the team lead in points (12) with Burns.
ABOUT THE WILD (5-3-0): Defenseman Marco Scandella scored with 5:53 remaining in the third period Tuesday to snap a tie, extend his point streak to three games and is grab a share of the team lead with a plus-8 rating. While Scandella's offense has been appreciated, Minnesota's lack of success on the power play has not as the club has failed to score on all 26 opportunities this season - joining Buffalo (0-for-32) as the lone teams without a tally with the man advantage. The eight-game goalless stretch on the power play also matches a team record, set on five different occasions.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota LW Matt Cooke has collected one goal and three assists during his three-game point streak.
2. San Jose has outscored its foes 13-1 in the first period this season.
3. The Wild have outshot all eight of their opponents in 2014-15, with an average of 34.2-22.6 per contest.