Pittsburgh Penguins (40-18-10, third in the Metropolitan) vs. Minnesota Wild (41-20-4, second in the Central)
St. Paul, Minnesota; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota hit the ice against Pittsburgh. Kaprizov ranks eighth in the league with 82 points, scoring 37 goals and recording 45 assists.
The Wild are 24-7-1 at home. Minnesota is second in the Western Conference recording 9.8 points per game, averaging 3.6 goals and 6.1 assists.
The Penguins are 21-8-5 on the road. Pittsburgh ranks ninth in the NHL averaging 5.8 assists per game, led by Sidney Crosby with 0.8.
Minnesota took down Pittsburgh 5-4 in the last meeting between these teams on Nov. 6.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kaprizov has 82 total points for the Wild, 37 goals and 45 assists. Mats Zuccarello has two goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Crosby leads the Penguins with 70 points, scoring 25 goals and adding 45 assists. Bryan Rust has 10 points over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 8-1-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.3 assists, 4.4 penalties and 10.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .927 save percentage.
Penguins: 6-3-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.7 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .922 save percentage.
INJURIES: Wild: None listed.
Penguins: None listed.
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