The Minnesota Wild will return home from a four-game road trip to host the Calgary Flames on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild posted a 2-2-0 record on the trip, which included a 3-0 win against the Seattle Kraken in their most recent contest. Minnesota has won five of its past seven games since general manager Bill Guerin fired coach Dean Evason and replaced him with John Hynes.
Before Hynes took over, the team was mired in a seven-game skid.
Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian said the additional points in the standings have been good, but the team’s improved play is even more significant.
“Standings aren’t really something that we pay attention to on a day-to-day basis,” Bogosian said. “We just know that we’re playing some good hockey. We keep playing this way, we’re going to win more times than not, and that’s kind of our attitude right now.”
Minnesota’s next test will come against Calgary, which is winless in its past three games and in five of its past six contests. The Flames are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Calgary coach Ryan Huska said he was happy with his players’ effort even if the result proved to be a disappointment.
“There should be disappointment — you’re playing here to win,” Huska said. “But you can’t lose sight of the fact that pretty much to a man, they came to play (against Vegas) and they stayed with it. Even if it doesn’t look very good, they stay with it right to the very end, right? Found a way to tie it up and at least get a point out of this.”
The Flames are expected to start Dan Vladar in net. He is 4-4-1 with a 3.76 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage in nine starts this season.
Vladar, 26, has appeared in two games against Minnesota in his career. He is 1-1-0 with a 4.43 GAA and a .864 save percentage in those contests.
The Wild likely will counter with Filip Gustavsson between the pipes. He is 6-7-2 with a 3.05 GAA and a .900 save percentage on the season.
Gustavsson stopped all 24 shots he faced in his previous start against Seattle. That marked his second shutout of the season and the fifth shutout of his career.
In six games against the Flames, Gustavsson is 4-0-1 with a 1.08 GAA and a .964 save percentage. He stopped 28 of 30 shots and earned a victory in his first start against the Flames this season Dec. 5.
On Wednesday, the Wild placed defenseman Jonas Brodin on long-term injured reserve. Brodin sustained an upper-body injury on Friday against the Edmonton Oilers.
To help fill the void, Minnesota promoted three players from its AHL affiliate in Iowa. Defensemen Dakota Mermis and Daemon Hunt each joined the Wild, as did forward Vinni Lettieri.
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon did not practice Wednesday to receive extra rest, but he is expected to be on the ice against the Flames.
