Minnesota Wild at Tampa Bay Lightning: game preview
MinnesotaWild2026-27: 2-0-1 · 5 pts · 2025-26: 46-24-12 · 104 pts · 7that
Tampa BayLightning2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-26-6 · 106 pts · 5thTwo points apart last season
Minnesota finished last season 7th in the league on 104 points. Tampa Bay finished 5th on 106, and the 2025-26 season series went MIN 1-1-0.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 41
Across 40 completed games, Minnesota lead the head-to-head 25-12-3.
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 3 Mar 2026, Minnesota were 5th in the league and Tampa Bay 2nd. By 24 Mar 2026 it was 6th and 5th.
Tampa Bay out-attempted Minnesota 301 to 262
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Minnesota Wild
Tampa Bay Lightning
Minnesota and Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Minnesota, 10 for Tampa Bay.
2025-26: 82 games for Minnesota, 82 for Tampa Bay.
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 sampleTampa Bay
Small sampleKirill Kaprizov has 8 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Kirill Kaprizov vs Tampa Bay · game by game
See all: Kirill Kaprizov vs Tampa Bay · game by game →Filip Gustavsson has started most of these meetings
Filip Gustavsson played 4 of the last 5 meetings with Tampa Bay, with a .872 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
- Started 3 of 3 this season
- 35 of the team's last 82 starts
2026-27: 3 GP · .933 SV% · GSAx +4
Also possible: Pickard 19%
Injured: Gustavsson (injured reserve)
- Started 3 of 3 this season
- 59 of the team's last 82 starts
2026-27: 3 GP · .898 SV% · GSAx +1
Also possible: Hildeby 13%
Filip Gustavsson
See all: Filip Gustavsson →MIN · 28-15-6 in 2025-26 IRReturn 1 Nov
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Jesper Wallstedt .933 (3 GP)
Full game logAndrei Vasilevskiy
See all: Andrei Vasilevskiy →TBL · 2-1-0 in 2026-27 Expected starter · 87%
Scoring rates point to about 6.1 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
Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82Goals 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
Tampa Bay · 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.
Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.
Minnesota · 2026 draft
See all: Minnesota · 2026 draft →Tampa Bay · 2026 draft
See all: Tampa Bay · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final