Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins: game preview
MinnesotaWild2026-27: 2-0-1 · 5 pts · 2025-26: 46-24-12 · 104 pts · 7that
PittsburghPenguins2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 41-25-16 · 98 pts · 10thSix points apart last season
Minnesota finished last season 7th in the league on 104 points. Pittsburgh finished 10th on 98.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 39
Across 38 completed games, Pittsburgh lead the head-to-head 21-15-2.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 30 Oct 2025, Minnesota were 29th in the league and Pittsburgh 1st. By 21 Nov 2025 it was 8th and 14th.
Minnesota out-attempted Pittsburgh 110 to 109
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Minnesota Wild
Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota and Pittsburgh are level on chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Minnesota, 3 for Pittsburgh. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Minnesota, 10 for Pittsburgh.
2025-26: 82 games for Minnesota, 82 for Pittsburgh.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Minnesota
Small samplePittsburgh
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 28 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 31 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Minnesota crease
MIN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 29 Dec
No appearances against Pittsburgh in the last meetings.
Pittsburgh crease
PIT · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 29 Dec
No appearances against Minnesota in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.5 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Minnesota3.001.673.322.93
Pittsburgh5.002.673.573.27Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
6 on the injury lists
Minnesota · injuries
Pittsburgh · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Waived for the purpose of assignment to Iowa (AHL) Ds Matt Kiersted, Carson Lambos, and Roman Schmidt and Fs Caedan Bankier, Dylan Gambrell, Justin Kirkland, Tyler Pitlick, and Mason Shaw. Assigned Ds Ben Dexheimer and Viking Gustafsson Nyberg and Fs Jagger Joshua, Hunter Haight, Riley Heidt, Rasmus Kumpulainen, and Rieger Lorenz to Iowa.
Signed G Filip Ruzicka to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Signed D Filip Ruzicka to a three-year contract.
Activated C/RW Benjamin Kindel from injured reserve. Placed C/LW David Gustafsson on waivers.
Assigned F Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Reinstated C Blake Lizotte from injured reserve.
Minnesota · 2026 draft
See all: Minnesota · 2026 draft →Pittsburgh · 2026 draft
See all: Pittsburgh · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final