B's looking to tame Wild, get back to winning ways

The Bruins will try to bounce back from Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres when they host the Minnesota Wild tonight at 7:00 at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Wild are looking to improve their mediocre play on the road (8-9-0 away record) in the new year by winning their second straight on the road.

Just who are these Wild that you speak of?
Minnesota Wild 19-16-3; 41 pts (3rd in Northwest, 8th in West)

Leading Goal Scorers
Mikko Koivu: 11 Goals (11-26-37)
Andrew Brunette: 10 Goals (10-11-21)
Antti Miettinen: 9 Goals (9-16-25)

Goaltending
Niklas Backstrom: 32 GP 18-12-2; 2.21 GAA .927 Sv% 4 SO
Josh Harding: 8 GP 1-4-1; 2.00 GAA .935 Sv%

Guys Who Like to Drop the Gloves
Derek Boogaard: 7 Fighting Majors
Craig Weller: 5 Fighting Majors
Erik Reitz: 4 Fighting Majors

'08-'09 Season Series
Bruins' record vs. Wild this season: 0-1-0
10/11 @ MIN 4-3 L

Injury Report

Boston
LW Marco Sturm: IR (Knee)
D Aaron Ward: Game-time Decision (Charley Horse)
D Andrew Ference: IR (Broken Tibia)
F Petteri Nokelainen: IR (Arm)
C Patrice Bergeron: IR (Concussion)

Minnesota
D Marc-Andre Bergeron: Out Indefinitely (Lower Body)
D Kurtis Foster: IR (Leg)
RW Marian Gaborik IR (Hip)

Notes:

- Fluto is reporting that Manny Fernandez will "most likely start tonight" against his old team.

- The Bruins are 4-0-1 this season following a regulation loss.

- The B's are 3-0-1 on Versus this season.

- The Wild are one of the NHL's best teams when it comes to special team play. Their penalty kill (87.9%) is second only to the Rangers, while their power play is ranked #6 in the league (22.6%). Good news for the B's: The Wild struggle at even strength. Minnesota has the 5th worst 5 on 5 ratio in the league (0.84), while the B's lead the league (1.64).

Today's Obligatory Embarrassing YouTube Fan Video