Wild gameday

7 p.m. vs. Nashville • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild, 2-0-1 in its past three but coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at St. Louis on Saturday, opens a three-game homestand as the NHL's only unbeaten team at home (5-0). The Predators, after a 6-1 start, are 1-1-2 in their past four. One giant reason the Wild made the playoffs last season is it won three road games in Nashville in the final six weeks.

Players to watch: Wild LW Jason Zucker has three goals during a six-game point streak. He is second on the Wild with 35 shots, is tied for first with 11 takeaways, is tied for first with four drawn penalties and is tied for first with six first assists. RW Thomas Vanek is on a six-game point streak. C Mikko Koivu has points in eight of his past nine games. Ex-Predator Ryan Suter is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen with 10 points. Predators RW James Neal leads with seven goals. LW Filip Forsberg is third with eight points. G Pekka Rinne is 11-6-3 against the Wild with a 2.27 goals-against average.

Numbers: Nine of the past 16 contests between the Wild and Predators have been decided by one goal (Wild is 8-5-3). … The Wild has the NHL's fifth-best offense, scoring 3.18 goals per game and 12th-best power play at 21.6 percent. Defensively, the Wild ranks 20th at 2.91 goals allowed per game and 23rd on the penalty kill (76 percent).

Injuries: Wild C Tyler Graovac (sports hernia) and RW Justin Fontaine (sprained MCL) are out. Predators LW Eric Nystrom (upper body) is day-to-day.

MICHAEL RUSSO