Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the Minnesota Wild (18-18-5, 41 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (25-10-6, 56 points) take the ice for the last of two meetings this season live from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The game can be live streamed for free here. Minnesota fans can hear all of the action on KFAN 100.3 while Pittsburgh fans can do the same on WXDX 105.9.
Minnesota has lost five straight games and plays the middle contest of a three-game road trip while Pittsburgh has dropped two of its last three games entering tonight.
The Wild enter play in the second-to-last position in the Western Conference and eight points out of a wild-card spot while Pittsburgh sits in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Pittsburgh defeated Minnesota 4-1 the first time these two teams met this season on Nov. 4.
The Wild are coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and will look to escape the funk they're in.
"There's no other way than to work our way out of this," coach Mike Yeo said per NHL.com. "We can't wait and hope for any help or we can't wait and hope things are going to magically turn around here. We have to be committed to making sure we're the ones to do it."
Jason Pominville has paced Minnesota with 32 points off of nine goals and 23 assists this season. Zach Parise is second on the Wild with 30 points off of 14 goals and 16 assists while Thomas Vanek has found the twine seven times and added 18 assists for 25 points.
The Penguins are coming in off of a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday that snapped a two-game skid. Pittsburgh has dealt with some injuries on defense this season and Olli Maatta (upper-body) remains sidelined.
"It's difficult given his situation and everything he's been through," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby told NHL.com. "But if there's anybody that can handle it, it's him. It doesn't make it any easier, but he certainly has the right mentality and approaches things the right way."
Crosby and teammate Evgeni Malkin have paced Pittsburgh's offense this season as Crosby is tied for third in the NHL with 32 assists and Malkin is tied for third in the league with 47 points. Patric Hornqvist has lit the lamp 13 times and added 16 helpers to rank third on the team with 29 points.
Between the pipes, Pittsburgh is likely to turn to Marc-Andre Fleury, who is fourth in the league with 21 wins and has added a 2.16 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Fleury paces the NHL with 26 shutouts.
Minnesota is set to counter with Niklas Backstrom between the pipes and he is 5-6-3 with a 2.83 GAA and a .892 save percentage.
The Penguins look to keep their position in the standings while the Wild hope to avoid a six-game skid when the lights come up at the Consol Energy Center tonight in Pittsburgh.
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