wild gameday
1 p.m. VS. ST. Louis • Xcel Energy Center • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: If the season ended today, this would be the Wild's first-round matchup. The Wild is 1-3-2 in its past six against the Blues at home. The Wild lost four of its past six at home. The Blues, 2-0-1 on their season-long six-game road trip, are tied for the league lead with 46 road points and are 12-2-2 in their past 16 on the road.
Players to watch: G Devan Dubnyk will make his 30th consecutive start for the Wild and 31st consecutive overall. He has won 21 games with the Wild (allowing two goals or fewer in 23 of 29 starts). LW Thomas Vanek is on a six-game point streak. C Mikko Koivu has no goals and three assists in the past 12 games. D Jared Spurgeon has four points in six games since returning from a concussion. Blues C David Backes has six goals and 12 points in the past 12 games. G Brian Elliott, 6-1 all-time vs. the Wild, will start. Blues C Paul Stastny has 30 points in 48 games against the Wild. Backes has 19 points in 32 games vs. the Wild and RW T.J. Oshie has 16 points in 20 games against Minnesota.
Numbers: The Blues have shut out three of their past five opponents and are second in the NHL with 10 shutouts. … The Wild's NHL-best penalty kill is 64 for its past 67 the past 25 games (95.5 percent).
Injuries: Wild LW Ryan Carter (upper body), D Nate Prosser (knee), LW Jason Zucker (collarbone), LW Matt Cooke (sports hernia) and D Keith Ballard (concussion) are out. Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery) is out.
MICHAEL RUSSO
