DETROIT RED WINGS

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 51st all-time meeting between DET and MIN
- Tonight is the 2nd of 2 meetings this season between DET and MIN, only meeting in MIN
- DET won the 1st meeting of the season series 5-4 in a shootout (Pulkkinen, Ericsson, Nyquist, Ouellet scored for DET; Koivu, Parise [2], Vanek scored for MIN)
- DET has earned points in 26 of its last 32 games vs. MIN, dating back to 2005-06 (23-6-3)
- DET’s all-time record vs. MIN: 32-9-3-6
- DET’s all-time road record at MIN: 15-5-2-2
- Jimmy Howard is 10-3-3 with a 2.21 GAA and 0.907 SV% in 16 games vs. MIN
- Brendan Smith has 6 points (2-4-6) in 6 games vs. MIN
- Pavel Datsyuk has 28 points (9-19-28) in 40 games vs. MIN
- Gustav Nyquist has 6 points (5-1-6) in 5 games vs. MIN
- Henrik Zetterberg has 37 points (15-22-37) in 37 games vs. MIN
- Niklas Kronwall has 16 points (1-15-16) in 29 games vs. MIN
- Teemu Pulkkinen scored his 1st NHL goal on 1/20 vs. MIN
- Marek Zidlicky had 123 points (25-98-123) in 241 games with MIN from 2008-12
- MIN’s all-time top scorers vs. DET: Ryan Suter (4-20-24 in 53 GP), Mikko Koivu (7-12-19 in 28 GP), Matt Cooke (8-9-17 in 40 GP), Chris Stewart (9-7-16 in 27 GP) and Zach Parise (7-3-10 in 11 GP)
- Seven MIN players skated for the US NTDP in Ann Arbor: D Keith Ballard (1999-00), F Charlie Coyle (2009-10), D Jordan Leopold (1997-98), F Zach Parise (2001-03), F Jordan Schroeder (2006-08), D Ryan Suter (2001-03) and F Jason Zucker (2008-10)
- MIN assistant coach Rick Wilson skated in 77 games for DET in 1976-77, recording 16 points (3-13-16)

ACTIVE CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES AMONG PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUES

23 - National Hockey League, Detroit Red Wings (1991-pres.)
17 - National Basketball Association, San Antonio Spurs (1998-pres.)
6 - National Football League, Green Bay Packers & New England Patriots (2010-pres.)
4 - Major League Baseball, Detroit Tigers & St. Louis Cardinals (2011-pres.)

MOST CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES IN NHL HISTORY

The Red Wings are seeking to clinch a playoff berth for the 24th consecutive season, which would match the fourth-longest streak in NHL history:
29 - Boston Bruins (1968-96)
28 - Chicago Blackhawks (1970-97)
25 - St. Louis Blues (1980-04)
24 - Montreal Canadiens (1971-94)
23 - Detroit Red Wings (1991-pres.)
21 - Montreal Canadiens (1949-69)
20 - Detroit Red Wings (1939-58)

THIS DATE IN RED WINGS HISTORY

April 4, 1971 – The legendary career of Gordie Howe comes to an end in Hockeytown, as Mr. Hockey plays his final game as a Red Wing on a 6-0 loss to NYR at Madison Square Garden.

MINNESOTA WILD

WILD VS. RED WINGS

All-Time Wild Record: 15-25-10 overall (7-9-8 at Xcel Energy Center, 8-16-2 at Detroit)
2014-15: Detroit won the first meeting 5-4 in a shootout at Joe Louis Arena (1/20)…LW Zach Parise (2-0=2), D Ryan Suter (0-2=2) and LW Thomas Vanek (1-1=2) led the Wild with two points each…G Devan Dubnyk started the match, allowing four goals on 10 shots in 27 minutes…G Darcy Kuemper earned the loss, stopping all 14 shots faced in relief through overtime and allowed both shootout goals…LW Henrik Zetterberg led the Red Wings with three assists…RW Gustav Nyquist recorded two points (1-1=2)…D Jonathan Ericsson, D Xavier Ouellet and LW Teemu Pulkinen each tallied a goal while C Pavel Datsyuk scored the shootout winner…G Petr Mrazek made 34 saves through overtime and stopped both shootout attempts.

WILD LEADERS: Suter paces the Wild with 24 points (4-20=24) in 53 games against Detroit...C Mikko Koivu has 19 points (7-12=19) in 28 games…LW Matt Cooke owns 17 points (8-9=17) in 40 contests...RW Chris Stewart has three goals in three games this season and 16 points (9-7=16) in 27 matches overall…Parise owns 10 points (7-3=10) in 11 matches…Vanek has 10 points (5-5=10) in 14 games.

WILD GOALIES: G Niklas Backstrom 2-4-3 with a 3.11 GAA and a .915 SV% in 11 games (nine starts)…Dubnyk is 2-1-2 with a 2.97 GAA and a .906 SV% in six career starts…Kuemper is 1-1-1 with a 1.93 GAA and a .933 SV% in three games (two starts).

RED WINGS LEADERS: Zetterberg owns 37 points (15-22=37) in 37 games against Minnesota...Datsyuk has 28 points (9-19=28) in 40 matches...RW Daniel Cleary owns 27 points (12-15=27) in 47 games…RW Johan Franzen has 24 points (13-11=24) in 28 contests.

RED WINGS GOALIES: G Jimmy Howard is 10-3-3 with a 2.21 GAA, a .907 SV% and one shutout in 16 starts vs. Minnesota...G Jonas Gustavsson is 1-1-0 with a 2.54 GAA and a .902 SV% in two starts…Mrazek is 1-1-0 with a 3.38 GAA and a .887 SV% in two starts.

CONNECTIONS: Rick Wilson skated in 77 games with Detroit in 1976-77…D Marek Zidlicky collected 123 points (25-98=123) in 241 games with Minnesota (2008-12).

FAST FACT: Minnesota is 5-3-2 against Detroit in the last 10 games and has earned a point in nine of the last 11 meetings at Xcel Energy Center (4-2-5).