Wild-Pittsburgh game preview: Gustavsson starts in goal for Wild instead of Fleury

at Pittsburgh Penguins, PPG Paints Arena, 6 p.m. Monday

TV; radio: BSN; 100.3 FM

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Pregame reading: Wild's Fleury returns to the scene of three Stanley Cup titles

Opening bell: After sweeping their homestand last week, the Wild hit an important milestone: They finally have as many wins as regulation losses, a nod to the progress they've made since John Hynes took over behind the bench. To get to 12-12-4, the Wild have won three in a row and seven of their past nine. They return to the road for two games in two nights against the Eastern Conference. Despite Marc-Andre Fleury returning to the site of his three Stanley Cup titles, he'll watch from bench as Filip Gustavsson starts in goal for the Wild.

Watch him: Wild D Brock Faber is building a case to be included in rookie of the year talk. After logging 30 minutes, 8 seconds Thursday vs. Calgary, he skated a jaw-dropping 31:34 on Saturday against Vancouver to become only the second NHL rookie since 1997-98 to play 30-plus minutes in consecutive games. Faber leads all NHL rookies in ice time (23:59) and blocked shots (50).

Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (upper body) and D Jared Spurgeon (lower body). Penguins C Noel Acciari (lower body), LW Matt Nieto (lower body), RW Rickard Rakell (upper body) and RW Bryan Rust (upper body).

Forecast: The Penguins (13-13-3) should have no shortage of motivation: They were schooled 7-0 by Toronto on Saturday. Pittsburgh has also been a difficult matchup for the Wild over the years, with the Penguins on a 8-0-1 tear vs. the Wild. But the Wild have played some of their stingiest hockey of the season during this win streak. The more reps they're getting in Hynes' system, the better they're playing.

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