Wild at Senators
The Minnesota Wild have made themselves at home on the road with three straight victories, but success traditionally has been hard to find when they visit Canada's capital. The Wild vie for just their third win in eight all-time trips to Ottawa when they play the second contest of their three-game road trip against the Senators on Tuesday.
Minnesota faced little resistance to open the trek, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Montreal on Saturday as the team has outscored its opponents by a 32-17 margin in eight road games (6-2-0) since interim coach John Torchetti replaced Mike Yeo. While the eighth-place Wild are even in points with Colorado for the second wild card in the Western Conference with a game in hand, the Senators reside seven behind Detroit for the final spot in the East. Craig Anderson turned aside all 29 shots he faced as Ottawa skated to a 4-0 win over provincial-rival Toronto on Saturday and made 35 saves versus Minnesota on Nov. 7, 2014. Mike Hoffman tallied twice in that contest against the Wild but has been limited to just one point - an assist - in his last seven games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), TSN5, RDS2, WPCW (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE WILD (32-27-10): Torchetti has lit a fire under Thomas Vanek, and he certainly liked what he saw from the veteran forward against the Canadiens. "He knows what I want. We're on the right page," Torchetti told the Minneapolis Star Tribune of Vanek, who notched two assists on Saturday after being limited to just one point in his previous seven games. "He's a vital cog on our team making the playoffs." Devan Dubnyk also fits the bill in that regard, having permitted 11 goals in his last six outings (5-1-0) while also stopping 73-of-78 shots to win both career contests versus Ottawa.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (32-30-8): Zack Smith scored in his fifth straight contest on Saturday to extend his point streak to a career-best eight games (six goals, three assists). Mark Stone tallied twice and set up five goals in the last five contests and linemate Jean-Gabriel Pageau notched three assists versus the Maple Leafs. "Just three guys playing simple hockey and finding chemistry," Stone told the team's website. "I think when you find that chemistry, it's easy to come to the rink and be comfortable on the ice. I think if you look at those two guys, they're comfortable with me and I'm comfortable with them."
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota is 2-7-1 in its last 10 games versus Ottawa.
2. The Senators are 0-for-14 on the power play in their last six contests.
3. Wild veteran RW Jason Pominville is expected to miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury.