The Minnesota Wild will play its last road game of the regular season against the St. Louis Blues on April 13 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Wild comes into the matchup following a 2-1 loss to Nashville, which secured home-ice advantage for the Stars in the upcoming First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This game holds significance as both teams look to close out their regular seasons with momentum. The Wild currently has a record of 45-23-12, while the Blues stand at 34-33-12. In this season’s series, each team has one win: Minnesota won 5-0 in St. Louis during the opener, and St. Louis responded with a 3-1 victory later in Grand Casino Arena.
Key players for Minnesota include Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, who have each recorded four points against St. Louis this season. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson has started both games between these teams, posting a goals-against average of 1.01 and one shutout performance.
On the other side, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich lead scoring for St. Louis with two points apiece against Minnesota this year. Goalie Joel Hofer earned a win by saving 22 out of 23 shots faced in their most recent meeting.
Recent roster moves for Minnesota include recalling defenseman Matt Kiersted and forward Hunter Haight from Iowa on April 12, signing defenseman Viking Gustafsson Nyberg to an entry-level contract earlier that week, and adding forward Charlie Stramel under contract starting next season.
Several connections exist between these clubs: Bill Guerin—now President of Hockey Operations and General Manager for Minnesota—played one season with St. Louis; Vladimir Tarasenko spent eleven seasons there; Robby Fabbri was drafted by the Blues; Oskar Sundqvist previously played for Minnesota; Jimmy Snuggerud is from Minneapolis; Justin Holl also hails from nearby Tonka Bay.
The Wild has never swept a season series against the Blues but did clinch its first-ever playoff series on home ice versus St. Louis back in 2015.
