While the Minnesota Wild continue their season-long success on the road, the Ottawa Senators remain a strong outfit at home.
Looking for a fifth straight road win, the Wild aim to keep the Senators from winning their fifth in a row at home Saturday night.
Minnesota is an NHL-best 20-5-3 on the road, where it’s outscored the last four opponents 14-4 and gone 3-0 on a current five-game trip. Quebec native Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 19 shots he faced for his 76th career shutout in the Wild’s 4-0 victory at Montreal on Thursday.
“I think we are playing really connected,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “It really starts with our work ethic and competitiveness. Then it comes to our attention to detail.”
Frederick Gaudreau and Marco Rossi each had a goal with an assist against the Canadiens, as the Wild won their second straight since the club announced superstar Kirill Kaprizov would miss at least four weeks due to a lower-body injury that requires surgery.
“Every game is big, and in this league, you can’t take a night off, ever,” Gaudreau said. “(On Thursday), everybody was just dialed and ready to go.”
Though backup Fleury has a 2.42 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage while winning three of his last five starts, Filip Gustavsson could be back in the Minnesota net after stopping 50 of 53 shots to win the first two games on this road stretch.
Gustavsson made 34 saves and Gaudreau had a goal during the Wild’s 3-1 home loss to the Senators on Dec. 29.
Though Ottawa managed a road win that night, a major reason it’s in playoff position in the Eastern Conference is that 15-7-2 mark at home. Since Nov. 25, the Senators are 10-2-1 at home, where they’re amid a 5-0-1 stretch following Thursday’s 5-4 overtime victory against Washington.
Josh Norris and Shane Pinto each had a short-handed goal, while Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson scored on the power play for Ottawa, which looks to sweep its four-game homestand Saturday.
“We’ve shown that we can battle against any team in this league,” said Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot, who scored the winner Thursday.
“I think there’s some things we look back (on) and want to do better, but at the end of the day, two points is two points. You’ve got to focus on that and take the positive on how big of a win that was.”
Norris, who had three points Thursday, and Greig also scored at Minnesota earlier this season. Pinto, meanwhile, has four goals and six assists in his last 11 games.
Ottawa’s Anton Forsberg stopped 31 of 35 shots against the Capitals after allowing a goal apiece in each of his previous three starts. However, it’s possible Linus Ullmark returns to the Senators’ net for the first time since suffering a back injury at Edmonton on Dec. 22.
At the time of the injury, Ullmark was amid an eight-start stretch where he was 7-0-0 with a 1.08 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage. Leevi Merilainen (7-3-1, 2.19 GAA), who’s stepped up while Ullmark has been out, made 30 saves at Minnesota in December.
