Wild gameday

Last update: March 5, 2007 - 9:32 PM

Preview: A regulation victory by the Wild (79 points) would move it past San Jose (80) in the Western Conference standings. The Wild and Calgary are one point behind the sixth-place Sharks. This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between these teams. San Jose has won two of the first three games, including a 2-1 victory Nov. 29 at Xcel Energy Center.

Players to watch: Right winger Pavol Demitra leads the Wild in career scoring against San Jose with 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 30 games. Veteran defenseman Keith Carney is second with 16 points (2-14) in 58 games vs. the Sharks. ... The Sharks' leading scorer against the Wild is right winger Bill Guerin with 11 points (6-5) in 16 games. San Jose acquired the four-time All-Star from St. Louis at the trade deadline. ... Evgeni Nabokov stopped 26 shots for his fifth shutout of the season as the Sharks ended a season-worst four-game winless streak (0-3-1) with a 4-0 victory at Dallas on Sunday.

Numbers: Demitra and teammate Marian Gaborik have 43 combined points in their past 15 games. ... The Sharks are second in the Western Conference with 42 points on the road (21-13).

Injuries: Wild LW Mark Parrish (neck) is expected to return after a one-game absence; G Manny Fernandez (knee) is expected to serve as the backup to Niklas Backstrom. San Jose D Scott Hannan (leg) and C Patrick Marleau (upper body) are day-to-day. C Mark Smith (groin) is on injured reserve.

JUDD ZULGAD

Recent Minnesota Wild stories

Zetterberg's 3 goals, 2 assists lead Red Wings to 7-4 win over Ducks - March 5, 2007

Zetterberg's 3 goals, 2 assists lead Red Wings to 7-4 win over Ducks - Henrik Zetterberg had three goals and two assists in the Detroit Red Wings' 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. More