Wild-Pittsburgh gameday preview
December 20, 2018 at 2:53AM
Two teams on playoff bubble see opportunity to make move
Preview: The Wild (17-14-2) is two spots out of the Western Conference wild card while Pittsburgh (15-12-6) is one out in the East. Pittsburgh will be on the second night of a back-to-back after traveling to defending Stanley Cup champion Washington on Wednesday.
Players to watch: Pittsburgh's top three forwards — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel — all have 36 points. … Crosby has 19 points (five goals) in 15 games against the Wild. … Wild center Eric Staal has 54 points (23 goals) in 53 career games vs. Pittsburgh. … When goalie Matt Murray (lower body) went on IR in November, Casey DeSmith (.923 saves percentage, 2.49 goals-against average) stepped in.
Numbers: Wild opponents have scored the first goal in 23 of 33 games. The Wild is 11-11-1 when the opponent scores first and 6-3-1 when it scores first.
Injuries: Matt Dumba (upper body) is out for the Wild; he leads NHL defensemen with 12 goals. For Pittsburgh, Defenseman Justin Schultz (leg) and forward Dominik Simon (lower body) are out.
MEGAN RYAN
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Minnesota lost its fourth game in a row, this one to the league leader and a Central Division rival.
