Jets at Wild
The Minnesota Wild look to salvage the finale of their four-game homestand as they come out of the holiday break to host the Winnipeg Jets in the opener of a home-and-home series Saturday. Minnesota has lost four straight overall, falling at Chicago before beginning the string of games at Xcel Energy Center with overtime defeats against Boston and Nashville. The Wild suffered a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday, rallying from an early two-goal deficit to tie the contest before allowing the final three tallies.
Winnipeg enters with a four-game point streak (3-0-1) after posting a 5-1 victory at Chicago on Tuesday. Mathieu Perreault tallied twice as the Jets scored the game's first four goals en route to improving to 8-1-4 in its last 13 contests. Zach Parise netted a pair of goals and defenseman Marco Scandella scored 1:01 into overtime as the host Wild posted a 4-3 victory on Nov. 16 in the opener of the five-game season series between the Central Division rivals.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CITY (Winnipeg), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE JETS (18-10-7): Perreault has been on fire of late, scoring four goals in his last three contests while collecting five and four assists during his eight-game point streak. The 26-year-old can match his career-best run set with Anaheim last season with a point on Saturday. Perreault has netted all eight of his tallies this campaign over his last 15 contests after beginning 2014-15 with a 19-game drought.
ABOUT THE WILD (16-13-3): Scandella has shattered his career high with eight goals in 28 games this season. The 24-year-old netted three tallies in 76 contests last campaign and also had three over 63 contests in 2011-12. Scandella has scored in two straight games and three of his last four. Parise leads the club with 27 points and has gone more than one contest without landing on the scoresheet only twice this season, with both of those droughts lasting only two games.
OVERTIME
1. Scandella is tied for sixth in goals among NHL defensemen, two behind co-leaders Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman of Calgary and San Jose's Brent Burns.
2. After losing his first start of the season, Winnipeg rookie G Michael Hutchinson has gone 8-1-1 over his last 10 - allowing fewer than three goals in nine of the contests.
3. The Jets host the Wild in the back end of the home-and-home set on Monday.