The Minnesota Wild passed their first challenge without star forward Kirill Kaprizov and are aiming to keep that momentum going when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
On Tuesday, the Wild announced that Kaprizov, who leads the team in goals (23), assists (29), and points (52), will miss at least four weeks after having surgery for a lower-body injury.
Despite his absence, the Wild secured a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, relying on strong team play, solid defense, and goaltending, with timely depth scoring.
“More often than not, we play a really strong team game,” said Minnesota coach John Hynes. “Tonight, we played a very structured game. … We had depth scoring, but I also think that those guys brought energy to the team. I think that the competitive level throughout the lineup was where it needs to be.”
The Wild have a 19-5-3 road record, leading the NHL in road wins and with the fewest regulation losses in the league.
In goal for Minnesota will be Marc-Andre Fleury, who grew up just an hour east of Montreal and will play in his final game in his home province of Quebec. Fleury, 40, has a 10-5-1 record this season, with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Over 100 of his family and friends will be at the game.
“Always feel such an honor to play on (the Canadiens’) ice,” Fleury said. “It’ll be very special, for sure.”
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are on a three-game losing streak and are eager to turn things around. They’ve been outscored 12-6 during their 0-2-1 slide, which comes after a 13-3-1 run that had them in the playoff race.
Montreal enters the game two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s a key time,” said Canadiens center Jake Evans. “We can’t let the losses pile up and take us out of the race. It’s time for us to show that we can still be a playoff team.”
The Canadiens lost 4-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, marking their longest losing streak since a six-game skid in October-November.
“I don’t want to say we’ve gotten away from a simple game, but I think we have maybe a little bit,” said defenseman Kaiden Guhle before the game against Winnipeg. “… I think that’s something we have to get back to. I don’t think we’ve gotten away from it totally, but I think it might have slipped just a tad.”
Unfortunately, Guhle will not be available to help Montreal get back on track. He suffered a lacerated left quadricep in Tuesday’s game and underwent surgery on Wednesday, with no timeline for his return.
Guhle has been a key player on defense, averaging 21:14 of ice time this season.
“When you lose a player like that, you don’t replace him with one player,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “It’s our collective game that will help us get through this, so that’s what we will focus on.”
