Minnesota Wild Face Utah Hockey Club Amidst Injury Challenges

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The Minnesota Wild kick off a crucial two-game road trip tonight against the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center. After suffering a narrow defeat to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, the Wild aim to bounce back and secure a win to conclude the season series with Utah.

Currently boasting a record of 34-20-4 and sitting in third place in the Central Division with 72 points, the Wild hope to improve on their series record against Utah, which stands at 1-2-0 this season. The Utah Hockey Club, standing at 26-24-9 with 61 points, is placed fifth in the same division.

The teams have met three times this season, with Minnesota winning the first matchup 5-4 in December, in what was a historic shootout for Utah. The Wild lost their next two encounters, falling 2-1 in St. Paul and suffering a 4-0 setback at home.

Forward Marcus Johansson leads the Wild with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) against Utah so far, while Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi have each contributed two points. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson, with a record of 1-1-0, has a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.88 and a save percentage of .852 for the season series.

Utah’s offensive leaders against Minnesota include Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller, both collecting four points apiece. Goalie Karel Vejmelka has shown notable performance with a record of 2-0-1, a GAA of 1.62, and a save percentage of .946.

In the Wild’s latest performance against Detroit, Marco Rossi and Jakub Lauko found the net, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. Minnesota faces additional challenges tonight as they continue to deal with injuries to key players, including lower-body issues affecting both Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, who has missed eight games.

Both teams are expected to dress close to the same lineups as their last appearances, with some last-minute decisions anticipated for the forward group in Utah due to injury considerations.

The puck drops at 9 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the game on FDSNWI and FDSNNO.