Minnesota Wild (18-11-2) vs. San Jose Sharks (10-18-6)
The 2022-23 NHL season continues with an eight-game Thursday slate, and the Minnesota Wild head to San Jose, California, to face off against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference showdown at SAP Center at San Jose with the puck drop at 10:30 PM ET.
Minnesota and San Jose continue their three-game regular-season series, and the Wild open as -150 moneyline favorites with a total of 6.0 goals. Back in November, the Sharks stunned the Wild 3-2 in a shootout as +180 road underdogs.
Wednesday’s games have been excluded from the analysis, and the 18-11-2 Minnesota Wild visited the lowly Anaheim Ducks, searching for their sixth consecutive victory. Last Sunday, Minnesota closed down a four-game homestand with a 4-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators, scoring exactly four goals for the third straight outing.
The Wild took just 23 shots toward Ottawa’s goalie, building a 3-0 lead through the first two periods. Four guys found the back of the net on the night including Kirill Kaprizov, who also had a couple of assists. Kaprizov scored a goal and had two dishes in Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, too.
“Every practice he’s trying new thi ngs, and just the chemistry he has with the guys and the vision he has is like none other I’ve seen,” Minnesota captain Jared Spurgeon said of Kaprizov. “I think it all starts with just how hard he works and the passion he has for the game.”
Never satisfied ??
?? Kirill on building confidence and putting one foot in front of the other. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/180XwMo3UZ
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 18, 2022
Minnesota ranks 17th in the NHL in goals for (3.13 per game) and 11th in goals against (2.84). Filip Gustavsson patrolled the crease against Ottawa, allowing a couple of goals on 28 shots, and the 24-year-old netminder is projected to guard the cage Thursday against San Jose. Gustavsson is 7-4-1 with a sturdy 2.31 GAA and .922 save percentage this season.