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WATCH LIVE: Wild visit Predators on NBCSN

By Sean LeahyMar 5, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with the Tuesday night’s matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

This is the second half of a home-and-home series after the Predators defeated the Wild 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday in Minnesota. This is the third of four regular season meetings this season after Nashville won the first two. They will meet a final time on March 25 in Minnesota.

It was a momentous win for the Predators, who had lost three of their previous four games in regulation, all of them to Central Division opponents. The Predators are just one point behind the Jets for first in the Central, but Winnipeg has three games in hand.

After the loss on Sunday, Minnesota still has a six-game point streak (5-0-1) and occupies the second Wild Card spot in the West. Still, they do not have much breathing room with Arizona (two points back) and Colorado (three points back) nipping at their heels.

The Wild are tied with the Ducks for the second longest active playoff streak in the league. Right now, it is highly unlikely Anaheim makes the postseason and Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes, the only team ahead of them, are still in doubt in the East.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators
Where: Bridgestone Arena
When: Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Wild-Predators stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

PREDATORS
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson
Mikael Granlund – Kyle Turris – Craig Smith
Rocco Grimaldi – Nick Bonino – Wayne Simmonds
Frederick Gaudreau / Brian Boyle – Colton Sissons – Calle Jarnkrok

Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Matt Donovan – Matt Irwin

Starting goalie: Pekka Rinne

WILD
Jordan Greenway – Eric Staal – Jason Zucker
Zach Parise – Luke Kunin – Kevin Fiala
Ryan Donato – Joel Eriksson Ek – Pontus Aberg
Marcus Foligno – Eric Fehr – J.T. Brown

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Brad Hunt
Nick Seeler – Anthony Bitetto

Starting goalie: Devan Dubnyk

2017 NTT IndyCar Series champion and Nashville Predators fan Josef Newgarden will be an ‘Inside-the-Glass’ guest tonight during the first period of Wild-Predators. He will join Pierre McGuire and John Walton (play-by-play), who will have the call from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen alongside Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick.

* * *

NBC Sports will take fans inside the sounds and passion of hockey with a one-hour special – “Wired: Stadium Series – Penguins vs. Flyers” – that will utilize audio from players, coaches and referees from the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers on NBC. It airs March 5 at 11 p.m. ET on NBCSN here.

WATCH LIVE: Predators visit Wild on NBCSN

By Sean LeahyMar 3, 2019, 6:30 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Nashville has lost two straight in regulation after dropping a 5-3 affair at Winnipeg on Friday. The Preds come in having lost three of their last four (1-3-0) but very much look headed towards their fifth straight playoff appearance. They are currently one point back of the Jets for first in the Central Division as Nashville could win consecutive division titles for the first time in franchise history – a year after winning its first division crown and the club’s first Presidents’ Trophy.

The Preds rank fifth in the league in goals against/game (2.64) and have the second-most points by defenseman (172) this season, behind San Jose. Roman Josi leads this charge with 51 points (second on team), followed by Matthias Ekholm (42 – third on team).

The Wild will return home to play the Preds and then head back out for a three-game road trip (Nashville, Tampa, Florida). Minnesota beat the Blues in its most recent home game snapping a six-game home losing streak. The Wild have not won two straight home games since Dec. 11 and 13.

It’s been the youngsters coming through for the Wild recently. Newly acquired Ryan Donato (age 22) scored a goal last night against Calgary. Donato has recorded a point in each of his first five games with the Wild (2G-5A). Only one player in franchise history has posted a longer such streak: Pavol Demitra (six GP in 2006-07). Donato had just nine points (6G-3A) in 34 games with Boston this season.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Nashville Predators at Minnesota Wild
Where: Xcel Energy Center
When: Sunday, March 3, 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Predators-Wild stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

PREDATORS
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson
Mikael Granlund – Kyle Turris – Calle Jarnkrok
Brian Boyle – Nick Bonino – Colton Sissons
Rocco Grimaldi – Frederick Gaudreau – Wayne Simmonds

Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin – Yannick Weber

Starting goalie: Pekka Rinne

WILD
Jason Zucker – Eric Staal – Jordan Greenway
Kevin Fiala – Luke Kunin – Zach Parise
Ryan Donato – Joel Eriksson Ek – Pontus Aberg
Marcus Foligno – Eric Fehr – J.T. Brown

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Nick Seeler
Anthony Bitetto – Brad Hunt

Starting goalie: Alex Stalock

John Forslund (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen alongside Patrick Sharp and Keith Jones.

Flames’ Hathaway tossed after turn-buckling Wild’s Kunin

Sportsnet

By Scott BilleckMar 2, 2019, 11:52 PM EDT

8 Comments

You’ve seen this before, but it usually doesn’t happen in the NHL.

Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway might have gotten away with this one if he was a wrestler in WWE, but on Saturday night he was an NHLer in a hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, where slamming a guys head into the boards is frowned upon.

Hathaway did just that to Wild forward Luke Kunin early in the second period. Kunin looked to hit Hathaway near the Wild bench but Hathaway had his head up and was able to evade the check before putting his arm over Kunin’s head and bringing it down onto the top of the dasher board.

The result looked ugly:

Hathaway was given a match penalty for intent to injure on the play. Kunin, meanwhile, left the game for a time before returning to the Wild bench.

This one will be debated. It looked a lot less malicious at full speed (more of an awkward situation than anything), but when you slow the video of it down, it looks worse for Hathaway.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

WATCH LIVE: Wild host Kings on NBCSN

By Sean LeahyJan 15, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Tuesday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and the Minnesota Wild with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Minnesota returns home after losing at Philadelphia last night, 7-4 – tying their most goals allowed in a game this season. The Wild jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and led 3-2 in the second period before the Flyers scored three straight to take a 5-3 lead into the third. Ryan Suter scored in the third to cut the deficit to one but that was as close as the Wild got, ultimately falling to the Flyers, who sit last in the Metropolitan Division.

Zach Parise leads the team with 41 points (19G-22A) and is averaging 0.93 pts/game – his best since 2009-10 (1.01 w/ NJ). He has 12 points (four goals) over the last 10 games. He’s on pace for 35 goals this season, which would be his most since that 2009-10 campaign.

This game begins a road-heavy stretch for the Kings, who will play nine of their next 10 games away from Staples Center. Tonight marks the start of a three-game road trip, followed by one home game against the Blues, before a six-game East Coast road trip.

Ilya Kovalchuk has gone 10 straight games without a goal, but he has three assists in his last four games and his play has improved in the eyes of Kings head coach Willie Desjardins. In November and December, Kovalchuk had been buried in the lineup and even played as little as 6:20 in a game (on Nov. 25 vs. Edmonton). But his usage has increased lately and he played 20:53 on Saturday, his third-highest total of the season, and most under Desjardins.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Los Angeles Kings at Minnesota Wild
Where: Xcel Energy Center
When: Tuesday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Kings-Wild stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

[Should Wild’s future include Bruce Boudreau?]

PROJECTED LINEUPS

KINGS
Ilya Kovalchuk – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Alex Iafallo – Jeff Carter – Brendan Leipsic
Carl Hagelin – Adrian Kempe – Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford – Nate Thompson – Matt Luff

Derek Forbort – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf – Oscar Fantenberg

Starting goalie: Jonathan Quick

WILD
Jordan Greenway – Eric Staal – Nino Niederreiter
Zach Parise – Charlie Coyle – Luke Kunin
Jason Zucker – Mikko Koivu – Mikael Granlund
Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Hendricks

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Greg Pateryn
Nick Seeler – Nate Prosser

Starting goalie: Alex Stalock

Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Jim Fox (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Xcel Energy Center.

WATCH LIVE: Jets take on Wild in Central Division clash

By Sean LeahyJan 10, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Thursday’s matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Minnesota is coming off a 4-0 shutout loss in Boston on Tuesday night, which snapped a three-game winning streak. This game is the Wild’s first home game in 201, and the team is looking to snap a four-game losing streak at Xcel Energy Center.

They’ve dropped six of their last eight home games (2-5-1) after going 8-2-2 in their first 12 games at home.

Zach Parise, one of the “Last Men In” All-Star candidates, has 38 points (19G-19A) in 41 games this season, and is averaging 0.93 points/game, his best since 2009-10 (averaged 1.01). He leads the team in goals (19) and has nine points (4G-5A) in the last seven games.

It was Winnipeg’s stars who all shined bright in Tuesday’s win vs. Colorado, with Blake Wheeler recording four pts (1G-3A), and Mark Scheifele (1G-2A) and Jacob Trouba each recording 3 pts (1G-2A).

While the Jets are in good playoff position entering the second half of the season, the team is focused on trying to become a more consistent force, and are trying to use last years’ experience of reaching the Western Conference Final to help lead to another successful run.

“We’re happy with where we’re at in the standings… but overall, as good as we’ve played, we know we have another level that we can get to,” said Bryan Little. “It only gets harder from here. For us, it’s just to elevate our game and to get ready for that.”

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild
Where: Xcel Energy Center
When: Thursday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Jets-Wild stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

JETS
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler
Patrik Laine – Bryan Little – Jack Roslovic
Mathieu Perreault – Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev
Brendan Lemieux – Andrew Copp – Mason Appleton

Josh Morrissey – Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot – Tyler Myers
Dmitry Kulikov – Joe Morrow

Starting goalie: Connor Hellebuyck

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Greg Pateryn
Nick Seeler – Nate Prosser

Starting goalie: Devan Dubnyk

John Walton (play-by-play) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will call Jets-Wild from Xcel Energy Center. Tappen, Milbury and Jeremy Roenick will anchor studio coverage.