By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
STATS Senior Writer
The Minnesota Wild are still looking to find more consistency at home, and may not be facing the right opponent to discover it.
The Wild will try to end a three-game home slide against the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday night in the teams' third matchup of 2010-11.
Minnesota (17-15-5) fell to 3-6-1 in its last 10 home games after a 4-1 loss to Nashville on Friday. The Wild were loudly booed off the ice after trailing 2-0 after the second period.
"For some reason, we didn't have the jump tonight," coach Todd Richards said. "I don't know if it was the five o'clock game, not skating in the morning, I don't know but we just didn't have it."
Chuck Kobasew's goal with 1:54 remaining was all Minnesota mustered. The Wild seemed to sorely miss Cal Clutterbuck, second on the team with 10 goals.
Clutterbuck had played in the Wild's first 36 games before sitting out Friday because of what the team called a "nagging injury." He's day to day.
"We weren't executing. We weren't sharp. They were sharper than we were and that was the difference in the game," center John Madden said. "I'm not going to sit here like I have all the answers."
Clutterbuck has gone pointless in his last five games against Phoenix (17-13-7), including three losses at home. The Wild lost all four matchups to the Coyotes last season, and fell 4-2 at home Dec. 1 before evening the season series with a 3-2 road win Dec. 9.
Phoenix has been getting off to slow starts in losing three of its last four on the road, failing to score in the first period of any of those games. The Coyotes enjoyed a 14-6 edge in shots after 20 minutes Friday, but trailed 1-0 and went on to lose 4-3 at St. Louis.
"We created some chances," coach Dave Tippett said. "The one chance they got, they capitalized on. We had a couple of chances very similar to that and didn't capitalize on. If we get a lead in that first period, it could be a different outcome. We feel like we played better."
Captain Shane Doan scored twice for the second straight game. Doan has 20 points in 18 games since returning Nov. 21 after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.
"He's played very well since he got back from his injury," Tippett said. "He's driving hard to the net, he's getting rewarded for going to the net. Those are areas he does well in."
Doan has six points in a five-game run against the Wild.
Ilya Bryzgalov is 5-2-0 with a 2.58 goals-against average in his last seven starts against the Wild after posting a 3.54 GAA in losing his first six career games against them.
Niklas Backstrom, meanwhile, is 2-5-0 with a 3.18 GAA in his last seven versus the Coyotes after posting a 1.18 GAA in winning his first eight starts against them.
Phoenix winger Scottie Upshall has five points in his last two games after going 10 previous contests without one.
