Schedule / Matchup Preview

Minnesota Wild vs Pittsburgh Penguins · Matchup Preview Based on 26-27 form — rosters current

Season 26-27
Matchup Preview @ Penguins · FRI · JAN 1 · 5:00 PM CT ← Back to schedule
Upcoming
FRI · JAN 1 · 5:00 PM CT
PPG Paints Arena
MINNHL · Wild+ · SN-PIT
Minnesota Wild
Wild
2–0–0
@
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins
2–0–0
Upcoming
FRI · JAN 1 · 5:00 PM CT
MINNHL · Wild+ · SN-PIT
Minnesota Wild
Away · Wild
2–0–0
4 PTS
VS
Puck Drop In
The read
Kirill Kaprizov has quietly owned this matchup, 6 points in the last 4 meetings.
PPG Paints Arena
Pittsburgh Penguins
Home · Penguins
2–0–0
4 PTS
Wild
GOALIES
Penguins
Jesper Wallstedt
Jesper Wallstedt
Expected
.957 SV% · 1.01 GAA · 2W
.935 SV% L5 · Locked in
VS
Arturs Silovs
Arturs Silovs
Expected
.886 SV% · 2.47 GAA · 2W
.920 SV% L5 · Locked in
Wild
PROJECTED TOP LINES
Penguins
L1
Blake Coleman · Joel Eriksson Ek · Matt Boldy
L1
Nicholas Robertson · Sidney Crosby · Rickard Rakell
L2
Kirill Kaprizov · Danila Yurov · Maxim Shabanov
L2
Egor Chinakhov · Tommy Novak · Evgeni Malkin
L3
Yakov Trenin · Ryan Hartman · Bobby Brink
L3
Andrei Kuzmenko · Ben Kindel · Hendrix Lapierre
L4
Nick Foligno · Michael McCarron · Marcus Foligno
L4
Connor Dewar · Blake Lizotte · Filip Hallander
D1
Quinn Hughes · Jared Spurgeon
D1
Declan Carlile · Erik Karlsson
D2
Olli Maatta · Jonas Brodin
D2
Samuel Girard · Kaedan Korczak
D3
Daemon Hunt · Zach Bogosian
D3
Trevor van Riemsdyk · Kris Letang
PP1
Maxim Shabanov · Joel Eriksson Ek · Kirill Kaprizov · Quinn Hughes · Matt Boldy
PP1
Ben Kindel · Tommy Novak · Rickard Rakell · Erik Karlsson · Sidney Crosby
PP2
Blake Coleman · Danila Yurov · Ryan Hartman · Jared Spurgeon · Bobby Brink
PP2
Andrei Kuzmenko · Hendrix Lapierre · Egor Chinakhov · Kris Letang · Evgeni Malkin
PK1
Michael McCarron · Blake Coleman · Jonas Brodin · Jared Spurgeon
PK1
Filip Hallander · Connor Dewar · Samuel Girard · Kris Letang
PK2
Joel Eriksson Ek · Matt Boldy · Olli Maatta · Zach Bogosian
PK2
Ben Kindel · Rickard Rakell · Trevor van Riemsdyk · Erik Karlsson
WildProjected lines
L1
Blake Coleman · Joel Eriksson Ek · Matt Boldy
L2
Kirill Kaprizov · Danila Yurov · Maxim Shabanov
L3
Yakov Trenin · Ryan Hartman · Bobby Brink
L4
Nick Foligno · Michael McCarron · Marcus Foligno
D1
Quinn Hughes · Jared Spurgeon
D2
Olli Maatta · Jonas Brodin
D3
Daemon Hunt · Zach Bogosian
PP1
Maxim Shabanov · Joel Eriksson Ek · Kirill Kaprizov · Quinn Hughes · Matt Boldy
PP2
Blake Coleman · Danila Yurov · Ryan Hartman · Jared Spurgeon · Bobby Brink
PK1
Michael McCarron · Blake Coleman · Jonas Brodin · Jared Spurgeon
PK2
Joel Eriksson Ek · Matt Boldy · Olli Maatta · Zach Bogosian
PenguinsProjected lines
L1
Nicholas Robertson · Sidney Crosby · Rickard Rakell
L2
Egor Chinakhov · Tommy Novak · Evgeni Malkin
L3
Andrei Kuzmenko · Ben Kindel · Hendrix Lapierre
L4
Connor Dewar · Blake Lizotte · Filip Hallander
D1
Declan Carlile · Erik Karlsson
D2
Samuel Girard · Kaedan Korczak
D3
Trevor van Riemsdyk · Kris Letang
PP1
Ben Kindel · Tommy Novak · Rickard Rakell · Erik Karlsson · Sidney Crosby
PP2
Andrei Kuzmenko · Hendrix Lapierre · Egor Chinakhov · Kris Letang · Evgeni Malkin
PK1
Filip Hallander · Connor Dewar · Samuel Girard · Kris Letang
PK2
Ben Kindel · Rickard Rakell · Trevor van Riemsdyk · Erik Karlsson
Dylan Loucks · as of Oct 3 Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:19 AM CT
Wild
INJURY REPORT
Penguins
Brock Faber
IR · Skull (surgery) · Expected back Oct 15
Bryan Rust
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 5
Filip Gustavsson
IR · Hip (surgery) · Expected back Nov 1
Justin Brazeau
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 7
Ryan Graves
IR · Knee · Expected back Oct 24
WildInjury report
Brock Faber
IR · Skull (surgery) · Expected back Oct 15
Filip Gustavsson
IR · Hip (surgery) · Expected back Nov 1
PenguinsInjury report
Bryan Rust
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 5
Justin Brazeau
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 7
Ryan Graves
IR · Knee · Expected back Oct 24
Dylan Loucks · as of Oct 3 Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:19 AM CT
STORYLINE
The Wild have won 2 straight and are 2-0-0 in their first 2 games. The Penguins have won 2 straight and are 2-0-0 in their first 2 games.

Matchup Intel

Kirill Kaprizov has quietly owned this matchup, 6 points in the last 4 meetings.

Nick Robertson is 2 goals shy of 100 career goals.

The numbers behind it
Player
Kirill Kaprizov has 6 points in his last 4 games against Pittsburgh. See the games →
(Minnesota)
6 pts, last 4 vs PIT
Player
Sidney Crosby has 5 points in his last 4 games against Minnesota. See the games →
(Pittsburgh)
5 pts, last 4 vs MIN
Milestone
Nick Robertson is 2 goals shy of 100 career goals.
98 career goals