Lightning at Wild
The Minnesota Wild look to continue their dominance against Atlantic Division foes when they host the rejuvenated Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night. The Wild, who boast the most points in the Western Conference (76), are 9-1-0 versus teams from the Atlantic and gained at least one point in six of the last seven games overall after a 4-3 overtime loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
“We know there’s still a lot of hockey and a lot of games left,” Minnesota forward Zach Parise, who has three goals in five games, told reporters. “So we have to make sure we keep improving and we’re peaking at the right time.” Tampa Bay may be finding its best form of the season following back-to-back victories over Anaheim (3-2 in a shootout) and Los Angeles (5-0) as it goes after its first three-game winning streak since mid November. The Lightning went into Thursday last in the Eastern Conference, but is within striking distance of a playoff spot with two games left before a “bye week’ – including a trip to Winnipeg on Saturday – as they face a big challenge in the Wild. “I’m excited for this,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “We want to see where we’re at. This will be a real gauge.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (24-24-6): Right wing Nikita Kucherov’s game perked up with two goals and three assists in the last three contests and he leads the team with 49 points – seven better than defenseman Victor Hedman. Versatile forward Jonathan Drouin boasts goals in two straight games and moved to third on the team with a career-high 34 points. Forwards Alex Killorn (16 goals) and Ondrej Palat, who both missed the last game with injuries, skated Thursday and could return while center Tyler Johnson (33 points) did not practice and is questionable with an undisclosed injury.
ABOUT THE WILD (35-12-6): Power forward Charlie Coyle is third on the team with 42 points after notching four assists in the last two contests and passed Antti Laaksonen for the longest consecutive-game streak in Wild history Wednesday (284). Leading scorer Mikael Granlund (48 points) was held off the scoresheet the last two games after recording at least one point in the previous 12 contests. Devan Dubnyk (29-9-3, 1.99 goals-against average, .933 save percentage) is expected in net after resting Wednesday and allowed two goals on 61 shots in two games against Tampa Bay last season.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay G Ben Bishop started the last two games, turning aside 42-of-44 shots, and owns a .934 save percentage in five games against the Wild.
2. Minnesota RW Jason Pominville boasts two goals and four assists during a three-game point streak.
3. Tampa Bay F Gabriel Dumont scored Saturday - his first goal since 2013 while with Montreal - and is winning 60.3 percent of his faceoffs.