game 3 preview

Wild vs. St. Louis • 7 p.m. • Xcel Energy Center • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild, after splitting Games 1 and 2 on the road, returns home for Game 3. The Wild was 5-1 at home in last year's playoffs. The Blues were the NHL's third-best road team in the regular season with a 24-12-5 record. The Wild was the NHL's 19th-best home team during the regular season, going 22-13-6, including 15-12-6 in its last 33. It was 0-2-1 in its past three and 4-5-1 in its past 10 at home.

Players to watch: Blues G Jake Allen has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his past 10 starts. He made 24 saves Saturday for his first career playoff victory, becoming the first Blues rookie goalie to win in the playoffs since Curtis Joseph in 1990. He led all rookie goalies this past season with 22 wins. LW Steve Ott spent the first two games getting under the Wild's skin with taunts, slashes and big hits. RW Vladimir Tarasenko leads the NHL the past two playoffs with .88 goals per game. Wild D Marco Scandella scored his fourth career playoff goal Saturday. He scored two goals in his last two regular-season games. G Devan Dubnyk and D Matt Dumba will make their home playoff debuts.

Numbers: When teams are tied 1-1 in a best-of-seven series, the Game 3 winner goes on to win the series 67.3 percent of the time (189-92). … The Blues were 36-6-4 and the Wild 35-6-4 during the regular season when scoring first.

Injuries: Wild D Keith Ballard (concussion) is out. The Blues are healthy.

MICHAEL RUSSO