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Wild begin road trip in Anaheim

Dec 4, 2011 - 3:36 PM (Sports Network) - The Northwest Division-leading Minnesota Wild look to continue their recent road success when they kick off a five-game swing tonight against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

The Wild have won three in a row as the guest and will also visit the Sharks, Kings, Coyotes and Jets on the trek. They are 6-3-2 on the road and sit six points ahead of both Vancouver and Edmonton in the division standings. The Wild are also tied with Chicago for the most points in the Western Conference with 35. Pittsburgh leads the NHL with 36 points.

Minnesota recorded its third straight win overall with a 4-2 defeat of New Jersey on Friday, as Kyle Brodziak scored two goals to lead the way. Dany Heatley and Casey Wellman had a goal apiece for the Wild, winners in 13 of their last 17 contests.

"We didn't execute too well, but we keep finding a way to get the job done," Wild defenseman Greg Zanon said.

Niklas Backstrom stopped 7-of-9 shots in the first period for Minnesota but did not return for the second because of a lower body injury. Josh Harding entered in relief and stopped all 22 shots he faced. Backstrom is expected to miss Sunday's game and forward Cal Clutterbuck (thigh) is questionable. The Wild recalled goaltender Matt Hackett from Houston of the AHL on Saturday.

The Bruce Boudreau era in Anaheim didn't get off to a clean start and the club hopes to change that this evening in the continuation of a six-game homestand.

Two days after Boudreau replaced Randy Carlyle behind the bench, the Ducks dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime Friday versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The Ducks blew a three-goal, second-period lead and fell to 7-13-5 on the season. Last in the Pacific Division, the Ducks got goals from Andrew Cogliano, Teemu Selanne and Andrew Gordon and lost for the 17th time in 20 chances.

Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller allowed all four goals on 47 shots, including Claude Giroux's tally 3:29 into overtime. Selanne summed up the team's loss.

"The bottom line tonight was too many penalties. We did a lot of positive things, but we took too many penalties," Selanne said. "We have got to play smart."

The Ducks are 5-8-1 at home and will close out the residency Tuesday versus Los Angeles.

Minnesota and Anaheim have split a pair of meetings so far this season, but the Wild have taken three of four and eight of the past 12 games in this series. The Wild are unbeaten in back-to-back trips to the Honda Center.