Early look The full preview opens on Thursday 25 February, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

New Jersey Devils at Minnesota Wild: game preview

Puck drop28 Feb · 3:30 PM ET
VenueGrand Casino Arena
All-time meetings37 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Seventeen points apart last season

New Jersey finished last season 21st in the league on 87 points. Minnesota finished 7th on 104.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 38

Across 37 completed games, New Jersey lead the head-to-head 23-10-4.

All-time record23-10-4New Jersey's record in the series
Meetings played37This is number 38
2025-26 series—
Last 55-0New Jersey
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
12 Jan 2026NJD 5 – MIN 2——NJD
22 Oct 2025MIN 1 – NJD 4——NJD
31 Mar 2025MIN 2 – NJD 3 SO——NJD
29 Mar 2025NJD 5 – MIN 2——NJD
2 Nov 2023NJD 5 – MIN 3——NJD
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateNew JerseyMinnesota
22 Oct 20256-1-0 · 12 pts1st3-4-1 · 7 pts21st
12 Jan 202623-21-2 · 48 pts21st26-12-9 · 61 pts3rd

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 22 Oct 2025, New Jersey were 1st in the league and Minnesota 21st. By 12 Jan 2026 it was 21st and 3rd.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Minnesota out-attempted New Jersey 130 to 128

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

New Jersey Devils

128 att · 64 on goal · 9 G · 14.1%
Crease12 att · 1 G
Slot39 att · 6 G
Wing52 att · 0 G
Point24 att · 1 G
Neutral zone1 att · 1 G

Minnesota Wild

130 att · 54 on goal · 3 G · 5.6%
Crease10 att · 1 G
Slot60 att · 2 G
Wing34 att · 0 G
Point23 att · 0 G
Neutral zone3 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

New Jersey and Minnesota 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.

New JerseyMinnesota
3.52xG for per game3.01
3.01xG against per game2.83
53.9%xG share51.5%
−4.5FinishingGoals minus expected goals−0.0
−4.0GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+3.5

This season: 3 games for New Jersey, 3 for Minnesota. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

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

New Jersey

Small sample
Power play · 2026-277.1%
Power play · 2025-2622.0% · 13th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2762.5%
Penalty kill · 2025-2679.3% · 17th
Faceoffs · 2026-2747.5% · 87/183
Drawn · 2026-2714 (4.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-278 (2.67/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Minnesota

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2736.4%
Power play · 2025-2625.2% · 3rd
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-27100.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2679.8% · 16th
Faceoffs · 2026-2748.0% · 84/175
Drawn · 2026-2711 (3.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-279 (3.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
86Jack Hughes31120.67
63Jesper Bratt30220.67
97Kirill Kaprizov33031.00
20Blake Coleman31120.67
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
43Luke Hughes31010.33
47Declan Chisholm30110.33
43Quinn Hughes31341.33
46Jared Spurgeon31231.00
3Olli Maatta30110.33
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 26 Feb: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 27 Feb: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

New Jersey crease

NJD · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 25 Feb

Jake Allen.8752 GP · 1-1-0 · GSAx −1.7
Nico Daws.8131 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −2.5

No appearances against Minnesota in the last meetings.

Minnesota crease

MIN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 25 Feb

Jesper Wallstedt.9333 GP · 2-0-1 · GSAx +3.5

No appearances against New Jersey in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.0 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

12 Jan 20267 · NJD 5–2 MIN
22 Oct 20255 · MIN 1–4 NJD
31 Mar 20255 · MIN 2–3 NJD
29 Mar 20257 · NJD 5–2 MIN
2 Nov 20238 · NJD 5–3 MIN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
New Jersey2.004.332.803.10
Minnesota3.001.673.322.93

Goals 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.

Scoring rates suggest6.0Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings6.4Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

8 on the injury lists

New Jersey · injuries

Connor BrownLower BodyOutReturn12 Oct
Johnathan KovacevicKneeIRReturn10 Oct
Jonas SiegenthalerUndisclosedDay-to-dayReturn10 Oct
Nick BjugstadPectoralIRReturn19 Jan
Seamus CaseyKneeIRReturn21 Nov

Minnesota · injuries

Brock FaberSkullIRReturn15 Oct
Filip GustavssonHipIRReturn1 Nov
Nick FolignoUpper BodyDay-to-dayReturn8 Oct
27 Sep · NJD

Claimed LW Jeremie Poirier off waivers.

27 Sep · NJD

Claimed LW Jeremie Poirier off waivers. Placed C/RW Marc McLaughlin, LD Vladislav Kolyachonok, G David Rittich, LW Riley Tufte, LD Topias Vilen, and C/RW Colin White on waivers.

25 Sep · NJD

Assigned Ds Mikael Diotte, Ethan Edwards, Jeremy Hanzel, Etienne Morin and Anton Silaev, Fs Josh Filmon, Lenni Hameenaho, Shane Lachance, Matyas Melovsky, Xavier Parent, Cam Squires and Ben Steeves and G Jakub Malek to Utica (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Utica Ds DJ King, Charles Leddy and Eamon Powell, Fs Tristan Ashbrook, Zachary Gallant, Gabe Klassen, Jack Malone, Justin Pearson, Ryan Schmelzer, Cristophe Tellier and Jermey Wilmer and Gs Jeremy Brodeur and Seth Eisele.

24 Sep · MIN

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.

14 Jul 2026 · MIN

Signed G Filip Ruzicka to a three-year, entry-level contract.

13 Jul 2026 · MIN

Signed D Filip Ruzicka to a three-year contract.

Injury report
#12Alexander CommandRound 1 · Orebro Jr.C
#37Matias VanhanenRound 2 · EverettLW
#44Nikita ShcherbakovRound 2 · Ufa Jr.D
#119Lavr GashilovRound 4 · Yekaterinburg Jr.C
Full draft
#83Adam AnderssonRound 3 · Leksand Jr.C
#112Kayden LemireRound 4 · Prince GeorgeRW
#137Filip RuzickaRound 5 · BrandonG
Full draft

Updated after every final