Kings at Wild
Nino Niederreiter has scored six goals in as many games to propel the Minnesota Wild to a 5-1-0 mark during that stretch. Niederreiter looks to continue his offensive surge as the Wild vie for their eighth win in nine home outings this season when they the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings pay a visit on Wednesday. "I'm confident, but I'm not going to be overconfident," Niederreiter told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune of his offensive contributions following Minnesota's 4-1 victory over Florida on Monday.
Niederreiter leads the Wild with 10 goals to reside four shy of his career mark, set last season. While the Wild are ascending, Los Angeles fell to 0-1-1 on its three-game road trip following a 4-3 shootout loss to Nashville on Tuesday. Defenseman Drew Doughty skated coast-to-coast before scoring early in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie and extend his point streak to five games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports West (Los Angeles), Fox Sports North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE KINGS (11-6-5): Former Wild star Marian Gaborik scored and set up a goal against Predators and has four tallies and three assists in his last eight games. After receiving a rare night off on Tuesday, Jonathan Quick is expected to get the nod in an attempt to improve upon his 1-3-3 road record and inflated 3.35 goals-against average. The 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy winner was brilliant in the teams' first meeting, turning aside 40 shots to improve to 9-4-3 in his career versus Minnesota.
ABOUT THE WILD (12-8-0): Defenseman Ryan Suter notched an assist for the second time in three games on Monday, but his offensive contributions are secondary to his punishing play that spans over 29 minutes per contest. In addition, Suter has helped his team dominate possession of the puck as Minnesota is controlling more than 57 percent of the shot attempts at even strength while he's been on the ice. Suter may see a familiar face as fellow blue-liner Jonas Brodin could return after missing six contests due to the mumps.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota LW Zach Parise scored versus Florida and has four goals and two assists in his last six contests.
2. Los Angeles failed on all three power-play opportunities on Tuesday after going 7-for-17 in its previous four games.
3. The Wild have yielded a league-low seven first-period goals.