Coyotes at Wild
The Minnesota Wild have vaulted to the top of the Western Conference on the strength of its stellar play since the beginning of December. Minnesota, which has four games in hand on its closest competitors, attempts to bounce back from a rare regulation loss when it continues its four-game homestand Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Wild have failed to earn at least one point only twice since November ended, going 12-0-1 in December before falling to Columbus on the final day of the month and kicking off January with a 5-0-1 mark prior to Tuesday's 4-3 setback against New Jersey in the opener of their string of home games. Eric Staal leads the team in scoring (15 goals, 39 points) but has been kept off the scoresheet in each of the last two games after collecting 23 points over his previous 18 contests. Arizona fell to 0-2-0 on its three-game road trip with a 6-3 setback at Winnipeg on Wednesday, a defeat that extended its winless streak away from home to six contests (0-5-1). The Coyotes are next-to-last in the league in both points (32) and goals (94), with Radim Vrbata - who is tied with Teemu Selanne for 10th on the franchise list with 147 goals - being the only member to hit double digits in tallies (10).
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus, FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (13-25-6): Alexander Burmistrov has recorded an assist in each of his first two games with Arizona after being claimed off waivers from Winnipeg, matching his total in 23 contests with the Jets this season. The 25-year-old Russian, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft, helped set up a goal Wednesday at Winnipeg in what was his 300th game in the NHL. The Coyotes again may be without Martin Hanzal, who missed the loss to the Jets after leaving the team to tend to what coach Dave Tippett stated was "a family matter."
ABOUT THE WILD (28-10-5): Tuesday's loss was a costly one, as defenseman Jonas Brodin suffered a fractured finger in the setback and will miss a minimum of four weeks. The 23-year-old Swede has recorded three goals and 13 assists in 43 games and is three points shy of matching the career high he established in 2013-14. Nate Prosser, who has appeared in only 17 contests this season, is expected to receive the opportunity to replace Brodin on the blue line.
OVERTIME
1. Wild C Mikael Granlund is riding a four-game assist streak and has collected 22 points over his last 19 contests, while captain C Mikko Koivu (18 points in 16 games), C Charlie Coyle (17 in 16) and LW Jason Zucker (12 in 12) also have been hot.
2. Arizona LW Jamie McGinn, who scored a career-high 22 goals while splitting last season between Buffalo and Anaheim, has recorded seven this season and is two shy of 100 for his career.
3. Minnesota D Christian Folin's next game will be his 100th in the NHL.