wild gameday
7 P.M. VS. St. Louis • XCEL • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: T he Wild and Blues are both playing the second of back-to-backs. The Wild is 2-0 on such occasions, the Blues are 2-1. The Wild has pulled its starting goaltending in three consecutive home games; Niklas Backstrom is expected to start this one.
Players to watch: The Blues feature an all-American line of T.J. Oshie-Paul Stastny-David Backes and all-Swede line of Alex Steen-Patrik Berglund-Joakim Lindstrom. G Jake Allen is expected to start. … C Mikko Koivu is the Wild's leading scorer vs. St. Louis (24 points in 33 games).
Numbers: The Wild's power play is 0-for-27 in the past seven meetings with the Blues.
Injuries: Wild LW Matt Cooke (hip flexor) is out. Blues D Jay Bouwmeester (lower body) will miss his fourth consecutive game. G Brian Elliott (knee) is out.
MICHAEL RUSSO
