Minnesota Wild (18-20-5, seventh in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (22-17-5, fifth in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Minnesota Wild as winners of three games in a row.
Tampa Bay is 22-17-5 overall and 14-5-3 at home. The Lightning have a 21-3-3 record when scoring three or more goals.
Minnesota has a 7-11-2 record on the road and an 18-20-5 record overall. The Wild have allowed 142 goals while scoring 123 for a -19 scoring differential.
The matchup Thursday is the second time these teams meet this season. The Lightning won 4-1 in the last matchup. Steven Stamkos led the Lightning with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikita Kucherov has 28 goals and 44 assists for the Lightning. Brayden Point has four goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
Mats Zuccarello has seven goals and 25 assists for the Wild. Brock Faber has five assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.5 assists, 3.5 penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Wild: 2-7-1, averaging two goals, 3.5 assists, 3.9 penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Haydn Fleury: out (hand), Mikhail Sergachev: out (lower body), Erik Cernak: day to day (upper-body), Tanner Jeannot: out (lower body).
Wild: Jared Spurgeon: out (undisclosed), Sam Hentges: out (undisclosed), Vinni Lettieri: out (lower body), Caedan Bankier: out (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
