Wild at Devils
The Minnesota Wild were just a few seconds away from winning the first two contests of their three-game road trip, only to settle for one point following an overtime loss in their last contest. The Wild look to rebound on Thursday, when they visit the Prudential Center to face the New Jersey Devils.
Nino Niederreiter scored in Minnesota's 4-1 victory over Montreal on Saturday and tallied again three days later in a 3-2 overtime loss to Ottawa. While the Wild trail Colorado by one point for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, New Jersey has to climb over four teams for the final playoff berth in the East. The Devils didn't do themselves any favors in their last contest, as they saw their three-game road trip end with a thud following a 7-1 shellacking by Anaheim on Monday. Devante Smith-Pelly scored for the Devils, giving him five goals and two assists in his last seven contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), MSG (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE WILD (32-27-11): Veteran Zach Parise knows a thing or two about the Devils, with whom he spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career. "They work hard, they forecheck hard. They play disciplined hockey," Parise told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "You have to make sure you're not switching from what you want to do. Otherwise, that’s where they attack, they wait, they wait, they wait and try to get you on the counterattack." The clogged neutral zone played a role in the teams' first meeting as they combined for just 35 shots - 18 by Minnesota - in New Jersey's 2-1 victory on Jan. 10.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (33-30-7): Coach John Hynes is banking on goaltender Keith Kinkaid bouncing back from a lopsided loss in much the same manner he did after a 6-1 setback against Pittsburgh on March 5. Kinkaid turned aside 52-of-53 shots in wins over San Jose (Thursday) and Los Angeles (Saturday) before getting blitzed for six goals versus Anaheim. "We're going to need a bounce-back from him and, I think, collectively from our team," Hynes told NorthJersey.com. "We tried to evaluate the game the right way with the players and understand what went right and what went wrong, but now it's our job to be able to respond."
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey RW Mike Sislo missed Wednesday's practice due to illness, prompting Hynes to tell reporters that he wasn't sure if the team would recall another forward from Albany of the American Hockey League or play with seven defensemen.
2. Minnesota LW Jason Zucker, who has recorded one goal and two assists in his last 21 games, could return to the lineup on Thursday after being a healthy scratch in the last two contests.
3. Devils captain Andy Greene will play in his 300th consecutive game on Thursday.