The Minnesota Wild (4-3-1) will look to recover from a disappointing loss when they take on the Phoenix Coyotes (3-4-2) on Monday evening.
The Wild had won two straight games before being defeated 3-1 by the Anaheim Ducks. Despite being outshot 13-6 in the first period, the Wild ended the first 20 minutes with a lead thanks to a goal from Marco Scandella. However, the Anaheim Ducks tied the game in the second and eventually won it early in the third.
Coach Mike Yeo stated that the loss was the result of inconsistent effort throughout the lineup. "I don't care who we are playing against, we have to execute," Yeo said. "We had one guy doing it and the next guy was not. It's not going to work. We didn't have everybody."
The Phoenix Coyotes picked three out of four points in their home-and-home matchup with the Dallas Stars. Phoenix lost the opener 4-3 in the shootout, but managed a huge 2-0 shutout on Saturday night on home ice. Goalie Mike Smith picked up his first win of the season after struggling in his earlier starts. Smith stopped 17 shots in the shutout win.
"It's been frustrating, having a couple of shaky starts and then getting injured, that's not the start to the season I was looking for," Smith said. "Saying that, looking around the League, a lot of good goalies aren't playing up to their capabilities. I am hard on myself, I take pride in that, but it takes a little time to get back into the flow and tonight was a good start."
Previous Matchups: This is the first of three games between these two teams. The two squads split the four meetings last season.
|
PHX @ MIN |
PHX, 4 - 1 |
|
|
MIN @ PHX |
MIN, 3 - 2 |
|
|
PHX @ MIN |
PHX, 4 - 2 |
|
|
MIN @ PHX |
MIN, 4 - 1 |
Predictions: If Mike Smith can continue to play as he did on Saturday, then the Wild could find themselves in trouble. This game goes to the shootout and Phoenix wins 3-2.
Start Time: 9 PM EST
TV: FS-N, FS-WI, FS=A
Watch Live Stream HERE.
Follow Live Score and Updates HERE.