The Minnesota Wild have yet to win back-to-back games, but they will try to snap the drought when they face off against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night in St. Paul, Minn.
The Wild are coming off a 5-2 home win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, snapping a five-game winless streak (0-3-2). They had two days off before returning to action to close out a six-game homestand.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno said he and his teammates looked forward to coming to work after posting a victory. It has been a difficult start for the Wild, who fell short in nine of their first 13 games but are looking to regroup in the second month of the season.
“You just take a breath,” Foligno said. “It’s nice to take a breath because it feels like we’ve been holding it for a long time. (Your) foot stays on the pedal, but at the same time you’re driving a little bit easier right now.”
The Predators will try to bounce back from a 5-4 overtime loss on home ice against the Canucks on Monday night. Nashville trailed 3-2 entering the third period and rallied to tie the score in regulation, but Vancouver bounced back for two points in the standings with the overtime victory.
Filip Forsberg and Michael Bunting each notched a goal and an assist for the Predators, who have lost four of their last five games (1-3-1).
Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said he wanted to see consistency from his players.
“I think the consistency of our game (is important),” Brunette said. “… I think our mentality and our mindset, ‘Can we do it for 60 (minutes)? And can we continue to do it for the most part, night in and night out?’
“So far, we’ve had a couple attempts at it, and a couple of games that we had some stinkers after a win, too. With this group, we’re into the process of being mentally tough and trying to carry it from night to night, and so far, we haven’t really grabbed that. It doesn’t mean we’re not close.”
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson is projected to get his 11th start. He is 3-6-1 with a 3.23 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage this season.
In seven career games against Nashville, Gustavsson is 4-2-1 with a 3.13 GAA and an .899 save percentage.
Minnesota could opt for backup netminder Jesper Wallstedt, who is 1-0-2 with a 3.45 GAA and an .863 save percentage in three games. He never has faced Nashville in his brief career.
The Predators likely will counter with Juuse Saros, who is 5-4-3 with a 2.79 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 12 starts. He is 9-3-2 with a 2.30 GAA and a .926 save percentage in 14 career games against the Wild.
Nashville backup goaltender Justus Annunen is 0-2-0 with a 4.09 GAA and an .852 save percentage in two games this season. Against the Wild, he is 1-1-0 with a 3.62 GAA and a .917 save percentage in two career games.
