NHL Matchup - November 28, 2007

The suddenly solid Phoenix Coyotes take a four-game winning streak into Minnesota to play the suddenly weak Wild Wednesday night.

Minnesota will be getting a big boost, however, as rightwinger Pavol Demitra returns to the line-up after missing 13 of Minnesota's past 15 games with a groin strain. Demitra will play out of position, centering the top line with Marian Gaborik and Mark Parrish.

Minnesota has got the better of Phoenix in recent games head-to-head, going 6-3-0-1 over the past 10. This is the second meeting of the season between the teams, with the Wild edging the Coyotes 3-2 on Oct. 13 in Phoenix.

In their last games, Phoenix (11-10-0 SU) took out the Toronto Maple leafs 5-1 at home on Saturday, and Minnesota (12-9-2 SU) went into Nashville and beat the Predators 4-3, also Saturday.

Phoenix has shown dramatic improvement on the road recently, including a 4-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks in Anaheim last Friday. The Coyotes are 7-2 SU on the road in their past nine games after going 1-13 SU in their previous 14 away.

The total has gone Under in six of Phoenix's past eight on the road, and Under in four of Phoenix's past six on the road against Minnesota.

Phoenix will likely go with Ilya Bryzgalov in net, while the Wild will start Niklas Backstrom.

Betting Line: Minnesota is a 175-moneyline favorite at betED.com. Phoenix is a +155 underdog. The over/under is 5.