Mats Zuccarello is thrilled to be back with the Minnesota Wild.
A lower-body injury prevented Zuccarello from seeing the ice for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. He returned to action this week and will make his home debut this season when the Wild face off against the Calgary Flames on Sunday evening in St. Paul, Minn.
“It’s boring to be in the gym and do all that stuff,” Zuccarello said. “So it’s nice to get back.”
It’s even nicer to be linemates with Kirill Kaprizov, one of the top players in the league. Zuccarello will look to maintain his connection with Kaprizov after the pair produced a goal in Friday’s 5-2 win over the New York Islanders.
Zuccarello slid a pass to Kaprizov, who did the rest by blasting a one-timer into the net. That represented the 69th Kaprizov regular-season goal that Zuccarello, 38, has assisted on since the start of the 2021-22 season.
“Obviously, it helps me that he’s world class,” Zuccarello said. “I think we think a little bit alike on and off the ice. … He wants the puck the whole time and he wants the puck in good areas, and I want to get rid of it as fast as I can.”
Calgary will try to interrupt the Wild’s rhythm of three wins in the last four games.
The Flames are looking to bounce back from a 4-0 loss at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. That snapped a two-game win streak for Calgary, which posted victories over the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets before losing to Chicago.
Calgary hopes to recover in more ways than one. The Flames will play their first game since losing rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh to an upper-body injury that he sustained on a hit by Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno.
Parekh, 19, had one assist and 11 shots on goal in his first 11 games of the season.
“He’s going to miss a little bit of time,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.
The highly regarded rookie had taken a fair share of big hits before the one that injured him.
“He has,” Huska said. “I think it’s probably getting used to speed a little bit, too, that guys close quite a bit quicker than what he’s used to. And then understanding how to put your body into a different position so you’re not taking such heavy hits.
“I think that’s something he’s going to be learning along the way here. Unfortunately, he took a pretty good one (Friday) from a heavier player.”
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson likely will make his 13th start. He is 4-7-1 with a 3.19 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage on the season.
In nine career games against the Flames, Gustavsson is 5-1-2 with a 1.77 GAA and a .943 save percentage.
The Flames’ top netminder is Dustin Wolf, who is 4-9-1 with a 3.26 GAA and an .892 save percentage in 14 games. He has faced the Wild three times in his career and he owns a 2-0-0 mark with a 3.03 GAA and an .857 save percentage.
If Calgary turns to its backup, Devin Cooley could get his fifth appearance and third start of the season. He is 0-1-1 with a 1.98 GAA and a .933 save percentage and has never faced the Wild in his career.
