For the Minnesota Wild, the road has looked a lot more familiar than their home ice to start the season.
That will start to change Thursday night as the Wild return home to host the Montreal Canadiens in St. Paul, Minn. It will be the first home game in nine days for Minnesota, which has played 10 of its first 15 games on the road.
In those 15 games, the Wild have recorded at least one point in all but two contests (10-2-3). They are riding a three-game point streak (2-0-1) as they face Montreal.
“We want to play good at home,” Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek said. “We want to make something out of this (hot start) and keep this going that way. So, for sure it’s going to be important to try to keep the momentum going at home, too.”
The Canadiens have had a much bumpier start to the season. They are 1-5-1 in their last seven contests, but they snapped a six-game winless skid with a 7-5 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in their most recent matchup Monday night.
Captain Nick Suzuki scored two goals and dished two assists in the victory. Cole Caufield also scored two goals, and former top overall draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky finished with three assists.
The performance gave Suzuki 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 16 games.
“(Suzuki) needed a game like (Monday night),” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I’m happy he got that game. As a player, you need those games.
“I think, like everybody, he feels the heat a little bit and to get that game and breathe a little bit, … this team needed this outcome (Monday), and I think âSuzy’ needed that, too.”
Minnesota is led in scoring by Kirill Kaprizov, who has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 15 games. He has scored seven times on even strength and two times on the power play.
Matt Boldy ranks second with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 15 games. Mats Zuccarello is third on the scoring list with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 15 contests.
A big key to the Wild’s early-season success started in the defensive zone, veteran Marcus Foligno said. The more that Minnesota moved the puck out of its zone and went on the attack, the more it alleviated pressure on its goaltender.
“When we break the puck out fast and then we’re making tape-to-tape passes and smart plays, it’s like, âOK, we’ve got our game,'” Foligno said. “The confidence goes right through the roof. What I want to see at home is when things do go south and we are on our heels a little bit, that we can correct it quickly.”
Filip Gustavsson is expected to make his 12th start in net for the Wild. He is 7-2-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage this season.
In four career games against the Canadiens, Gustavsson is 1-2-1 with a 3.64 GAA and an .884 save percentage.
Sam Montembeault is set to start in goal for Montreal. The 28-year-old is 4-7-1 with a 3.42 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 12 games this season.
Montembeault has faced the Wild three times in his career. He is 1-1-1 in those matchups with a 3.60 GAA and an .872 save percentage.
