6:30 p.m. vs. Montreal • Bell Centre • FSN, 100.3-FM
Wild sees the Canadiens for final time during the regular season
Preview: The Wild opened the two-game season series against Montreal with a 6-3 victory Nov. 2 at Xcel Energy Center, its sixth consecutive win over the Canadiens. The game ends a back-to-back set. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk played Wednesday and is expected to start Thursday as well, with backup Alex Stalock at home in the Twin Cities for the birth of his second child. Montreal is on a three-game winning streak but could be without forward Jonathan Drouin; the team's second-leading scorer injured his hand Tuesday.
Players to watch: Dubnyk stopped 28 shots to get the win over Montreal last week. He is 6-1-1 with a goals-against average of 2.58 and save percentage of .917 against the Canadiens. With regular goaltender Carey Price injured, Montreal has turned to Lake-ville native Charlie Lindgren. A former St. Cloud State goalie who has played only five NHL games, Lindgren made 29 saves to lift the Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over Vegas on Tuesday and shut out Chicago on Sunday.
Numbers: Lindgren is 5-0-0 in his NHL career, which began last April, and a win in his next start would equal the legendary Ken Dryden's run of six victories in his first six NHL games. … Wild forward Eric Staal has 42 points in 45 career games against the Canadiens.
Injuries: Wild forwards Zach Parise (back surgery) and Charlie Coyle (broken fibula) are out. Montreal forwards Ales Hemsky (upper body) and Nikita Scherbak (knee surgery) and defenseman David Schlemko (hand) are out. Price (lower body) and Drouin are day-to-day.
Rachel Blount
