wild gameday
7 P.M. VS. DALLAS • XCEL • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild broke an 0-1-2 winless streak to start the season with a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Thursday. This is the second of back-to-back games for the Stars, who played in Winnipeg on Friday night. Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Dallas is 25-9-1 against the Wild and has won at least one game in St. Paul in eight of the past nine years.
Players to watch: Wild RW Nino Niederreiter is expected to again see top-line action with LW Zach Parise and C Mikko Koivu. Parise has three goals and is tied for third in the NHL with 23 shots. D Jonas Brodin is tied for first in shooting percentage (.500), with two goals on four shots. LW Matt Cooke has scored twice. Stars F Alex Chiasson had eight goals in nine NHL games heading into Friday's game at Winnipeg. LW Ray Whitney, 41, has 11 points in his past eight games in St. Paul. G Dan Ellis may start. He is 2-4-1 in nine games vs. the Wild.
Numbers: Wild G Josh Harding is 23-9-2 in starts at Xcel Energy Center, including 16-4-1 since Jan. 27, 2010. … The Wild has a league-best .606 faceoff winning percentage and won a franchise-record 73.8 percent Thursday against Winnipeg.
Injuries: Wild center Charlie Coyle (knee), G Niklas Backstrom (knee) and LW Mike Rupp (knee) are out. Stars defenseman Aaron Rome (hip) is out.
MICHAEL RUSSO
