Game Preview: Minnesota Wild vs. Winnipeg Jets

The Minnesota Wild (8-3-2) and the Winnipeg Jets (8-5-2) will face-off for a rematch Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Jets trumped the Wild in their first matchup of the season with a 5-4 victory in Winnipeg on October 25, but the Wild hope to even up the series on home ice.

For the Wild, this  concludes a three-game home stretch following which included a loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday and win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

Winnipeg has has struggled in their most recent games, as they were shutout by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, November 7  which came on the heals of their heartbreaking loss in the shoot out against the Ottawa Senators last Thursday.

The Wild will not have the skills of Zach Parise, their veteran star, due to a knee injury that has left him out on week-to-week status. They will also be missing top defenseman Marco Scandella in the lineup.

As a result of Parise being injured, the Wild hope for continued contributions from young players such as Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund. They hope for captain and leading scorer, Mikko Koivu, to step up, as well.

Devan Dubnyk will start in Tuesday’s game, and is coming off of a 1-0 shutout against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Minnesota native Blake Wheeler has led the Jets, tallying a total of 17 points within the 15 games he has played. Wheeler currently sits in fifth place in the league in points.

Fans should expect the game to be intense, as the Wild hope to start a winning streak, while the Jets likewise hope to end their drought.