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Sports

Wild hope for rebound effort versus Flames

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

The Minnesota Wild look to shake off their first loss in six games tonight as the Northwest Division leaders look for a third straight shutout over the Calgary Flames.

Minnesota won four of six versus St. Louis a season ago, winning the final meeting by a 6-0 margin. The two clubs then opened their 2011-12 season series on Nov. 8 in Calgary, where the Wild notched a 3-0 win behind 41 saves from Niklas Backstrom.

Dany Heatley led the offense with a two-point night, while Minnesota killed off all seven of Calgary's power-play attempts.

Backstrom also made 37 saves in the shutout win over Calgary last year and will get the start in this game after Josh Harding allowed four goals on 28 shots in a 5-2 defeat to the Oilers on Friday.

"They have a lot of young talent, they bring it," Harding said of Edmonton. "They're fast, they get pucks deep and they work the cycle really well. I think that's one of the strengths of their team."

Devin Setoguchi and Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored for Minnesota, which has already set a club record for the most wins in November with nine and plays the fifth of a six-game homestand tonight.

The Flames sit last in the Northwest Division with 17 points and lost a season-high third straight game on Friday with a 2-0 defeat at St. Louis. Blues netminder Brian Elliott made 24 saves to shut out the Flames, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 shots.

"He just kept the puck out," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said of Elliott's performance. "I know he's been playing well and he continued it against us. We'd always like a few more chances, but the ones we did have, he made some very good saves."

If Kiprusoff gets the call in this game, it will be his 500th game with the Flames, who haven't lost four in a row since Jan. 3-11 of last season.

Calgary, which has lost five of its past seven in Minnesota, saw the debut of forward Blake Comeau on Friday after he was claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders. He had three shots in the loss.

Prior to tonight's game, the Wild will honor Derek Boogaard, who passed away in May, with a video tribute. Members of his family are expected to be in attendance.

Boogaard was one of the more popular players in Wild history for his toughness and role as team enforcer.