{coyotes} WILD (15-11-1) at COYOTES (10-16-3)

Friday, 12 December 2014

{coyotes} WILD (15-11-1) at COYOTES (10-16-3)

A Christmas Story / National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Saturday, December 13, 2014

8:00 PM ET

WILD (15-11-1) at COYOTES (10-16-3)

TV: FS-N, FS-A

Season series: Charlie Coyle and Jason Pominville scored goals for the Minnesota Wild in a 2-0 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Xcel Energy Center on Oct. 23. Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves for his third shutout. The Coyotes and Wild have played 26 times in Arizona, with each team winning 13 times.

Wild team scope: Minnesota has lacked consistency through the first 27 games of its season and coach Mike Yeo let his players know about it Friday in a quick on-ice meeting before the Wild practiced in Glendale. "We're tired of being on the cusp, we're tired of being close," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "We need to demand better than what we've been bringing. We're better than what we're showing consistently." Minnesota has fallen nine points behind the third-place St. Louis Blues in the Central Division standings, though the Wild have two games in hand. Minnesota will play Saturday without defenseman Marco Scandella, who is serving the second of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson on Tuesday. Yeo wouldn't commit to a starting goaltender; Darcy Kuemper was good in a 2-1 road loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, but Niklas Backstrom is 14-10-0 with a 2.14 goals-against average in his career against the Coyotes.

Coyotes team scope: Arizona, which has lost seven of eight games overall and eight in a row at home, is looking for its first win at Gila River Arena since Nov. 4. In an effort to get their struggling offense going -- the Coyotes have scored five goals in their past four games, all losses -- Arizona recalled forward Alexandre Bolduc from the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League on Friday. Bolduc has nine goals and 20 points with Portland, leading the Pirates in both categories, but hasn't appeared in an NHL game since the 2012-13 season. Defenseman Brandon Gormley, out since Nov. 14 with a lower-body injury, has been practicing but is not ready to return. Coach Dave Tippett would not divulge his starting goaltender, but Mike Smith was good in the game against Minnesota earlier this season, making 27 saves.

Team Stats