The Minnesota Wild are riding a three-game winning streak and looking great lately, beating the New Jersey Devils on Friday 4-2. The other wins on their streak came over Edmonton and Tampa Bay.. They're looking for the fourth straight on Sunday when they head out on a five game road trip to take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Wild still sit atop the Northwest Division, six points ahead of the second-place Canucks and Oilers.
Anaheim has really struggled of late, losing their last outing to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. Before that, they had a win over the Canadiens, but were on a seven-game losing skid before said win. The Ducks were just 2-8-3 in the month of November, and have started December off with a loss as well. They can still make this six-game homestand they're on a winning one by beating the Wild and then the Kings on Tuesday.
This will be the third or four meetings between the two teams this season. Anaheim took the first outing on Oct. 27 when Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf both scored power play goals and had assists and Teemu Selanne had three assists. The Wild took the second meeting by the same 3-2 margin, when Matt Cullen and Jared Spurgeon scored just a couple minutes apart in the first period and Kyle Brodziak notched the game-winner.
The Minnesota Wild won their third straight game on Friday night to extend their Northwest Division lead to six points over the Vancouver Canucks and remain on top of the Western Conference with the Detroit Red Wings at 33 points.
The Wild got off to a quick start against the Devils, scoring on three of their first four shots and sending future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur to the bench after just eight minutes. It was Brodeur's second straight game having trouble preventing the puck from getting by him, as he allowed three first period goals and six overall to the Avalanche on Wednesday.
Center Kyle Brodziak scored twice on five shots to lead the Wild in scoring. Backup goalie Josh Harding stopped all 22 shots he faced in place of Nicklas Backstrom, who was replaced to start the second period due to a minor lower-body issue. The Devils outshot the Wild 31-16.
The Wild play next on Sunday vs. the Pacific Division's worst team, the Anaheim Ducks.
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The Minnesota Wild are hosting the New Jersey Devils on Friday before embarking on a long road trip in hopes of expanding their first-place divisional lead.
