The matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets will be one with many conflicting storylines.

Both the Wild and Jackets, each with lengthy, record-shattering winning streaks, are approaching Saturday's game in much different ways.

"It's game 36," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "It's not the Super Bowl or it's not the Stanley Cup; it's game 36. It's got a good little storyline, but that's all it is."

That angle is also a historic one. For the first time in the history of the United States' four major professional sports leagues, a regular-season game will feature two teams riding winning streaks totaling 12 games or longer (per Elias Sports Bureau). 

Each team extended its winning streak Thursday, with Minnesota winning 6-4 over the New York Islanders and Columbus rolling to a 5-3 victory in Winnipeg. The Wild is on a 12-game streak, while the Jackets upped theirs to 14 games, the fifth-longest in NHL history.

While Boudreau has been telling his team to approach the streak with a game-by-game mentality, Columbus coach John Tortorella has been encouraging his club to enjoy it.

"I want our guys to revel in it. I think we have to play better. I don't think we've been on top of our game. We have won, but I don't think we've outplayed teams by any means the last little while," Tortorella said. "Athletes look to hang their hat on something and in a grind of a season. [This is] certainly not anything close to playoffs; it's a good game to be involved in. I'm glad we have the opportunity."

Regardless of the approach, both clubs said the game will be good for the League, which announced on Friday that the matchup will be the featured "free game" on NHL TV, meaning anyone in the country can watch it online free of charge.

With the two teams playing at a high level, the game has a chance to grab attention from people who may otherwise not be tuning in. 

"It's fun for the League, it's fun for the fans, it's fun for us too," said Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno. "Just to go up against a really good team, that's the opportunity we have here, to try and get a win against a really good team. We're excited about that."

Read more at Wild.com.