Ducks at Wild
Bruce Boudreau will receive his second look at the team with which he won four consecutive division titles on Saturday night as his white-hot Minnesota Wild host the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks. Boudreau enjoyed his trip back to Orange County on Jan. 8 after Minnesota skated to a 2-1 triumph as part of its stellar 18-2-2 run.
Devan Dubnyk, who leads the league in goals-against average (1.88) and save percentage (.936), made 23 saves in the win over Anaheim and Eric Staal added an assist to continue his torrid run. The 32-year-old Staal recorded his 22nd point (10 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games by scoring his team-leading 16th goal in the Wild's 4-3 win over Arizona on Thursday. While Minnesota has won 10 of its last 12 at home, Anaheim extended its overall point streak to six games (5-0-1) since losing to the Wild by posting a 2-1 victory over Colorado on Thursday. John Gibson made 21 saves to improve to 8-1-2 in his last 11 appearances, with the lone regulation setback coming against Minnesota despite a 34-save performance.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, PRIME (Anaheim), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (26-13-9): Jakob Silfverberg did not accompany the team on its flight to Minnesota as an upper-body injury sustained against the Avalanche will force the 26-year-old forward to miss his first game of the season. Silfverberg (team high-tying plus-13 rating) is questionable for the second contest of the trek in Winnipeg, with Anaheim recalling fellow forward Corey Tropp on Friday to serve as insurance. The 27-year-old Tropp, who is expected to make his debut on Saturday, has collected 29 points in 32 games with San Diego of the American Hockey League.
ABOUT THE WILD (29-10-5): Offense hasn't been an issue this season for Minnesota, which is averaging 3.3 goals per contest while reaching four tallies in 10 games since Dec. 2. Veteran Jason Pominville notched three assists to raise his point total to seven in as many contests and Mikael Granlund has six of his team-leading 27 assists on his five-game point streak. Defenseman Ryan Suter, who will turn 32 on Saturday, is enjoying a career-high plus-26 rating while his 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) have him in consideration to challenge last season's personal-best total of 51.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim C Ryan Kesler scored one of his six goals this month versus Minnesota.
2. The Wild boast a 7-2-1 mark on Hockey Day Minnesota, a statewide celebration that features all-day coverage of high school, college and professional hockey.
3. Minnesota leads the NHL with a 28.8 percent power-play efficiency at home, recording at least one goal with the man advantage in 13 of its last 16 games.