TIME: 09:00 P.M. EST
VENUE: Pengrowth Saddledome
A slew of injuries may be catching up to the Minnesota Wild.
Visiting the Calgary Flames could get them untracked.
The Wild will try to snap a four-game slide by prolonging the Flames four-game skid and continuing their success at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday night.
Minnesota (20-9-5) is without forwards Mikko Koivu (leg), Devin Setoguchi (lower-body injury), Guillaume Latendresse (concussion), Casey Wellman (wrist) and defenseman Justin Falk (back).
Its unclear when any of those five will return, and Koivus absence may be the most significant considering the captain leads the Wild with 28 points.
Those injuries have certainly played a factor in Minnesotas slide, which hit four with Mondays 4-0 loss at Vancouver – the clubs most lopsided of the season.
Due to a 12-2-0 run prior to this skid, the Wild still have a three-point lead over the Canucks atop the Northwest Division.
“Its not about the standings,” said goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who has a 2.41 goals-against average while losing each of the last four games. “Its the way were playing right now and thats not our hockey.”
Perhaps a visit to Calgary (14-15-4) can rejuvenate them. Theyve won six of their last seven there and each of the last three while outscoring the Flames 12-1.
That includes a 3-0 victory Nov. 8, though Minnesota fell 5-2 to Calgary at home Nov. 27.
Backstrom didnt fare well in that matchup, yielding three goals on eight shots before getting pulled 8:45 into the first period. Hes 9-2-1 with a 1.25 GAA and four shutouts in his last 13 meetings with the Flames, however, including a 5-0 record and 0.52 GAA in six visits to Calgary.
That may be enough for Backstrom to get the nod again since backup Josh Harding has lost all four of his games at the Saddledome with a 2.70 GAA.
Dany Heatley has one point in his last three games after collecting one in each of his previous seven. The right wing has one goal and two assists against the Flames this season, finding the net and setting up Latendresses tally in Calgary last month.
Heatley nine points in nine career games there.
The Flames are on the brink of their longest slide since dropping nine in a row from Jan. 11-28, 2010, but theyre 5-0-1 in their last six at home.
Calgary failed to carry that success onto the road, concluding an 0-2-2 trip with Sundays 4-2 loss at Chicago.
“Of the four games we had on the road, this was certainly the most disappointing effort,” coach Brent Sutter said. “You cant play that way against any team, let alone top teams, in the National Hockey League and think you have a chance to win.”
Snapping the slide may be a tougher without Rene Bourque, who is suspended two games without pay after hitting the Blackhawks Brent Seabrook from behind in the first period.
Bourque has 11 goals to tie Olli Jokinen for second on the team behind Jarome Iginlas 12. Hes not eligible to return until the Flames open a season-high seven-game road trip at Vancouver on Friday.
Despite Calgarys struggles, Jokinen has three goals and three assists in his last three games and leads the team with 27 points. The center has five points in the past three home games, while Iginla has four goals and two assists in that stretch.
Iginla has failed to produce a point in the Flames last six home losses to Minnesota.