wild gameday
7 p.m. at St. Louis • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild has won six in a row on the road and is an NHL-best 10-1-2 on the road since Jan. 15. This is Minnesota's second of four meetings with the Blues, who beat the Wild in St. Paul, 3-2 in a shootout Nov. 29. The Wild is 2-7-2 in its past nine at St. Louis, being outscored 38-19 over that span. It hasn't won in regulation in St. Louis since Oct. 20, 2007 (12 games). The Blues took over the top spot in the Central Division on Thursday with a 1-0 shootout win over Philadelphia.
Players to watch: If D Devyn Dubnyk starts, it'll be the fourth time he starts back-to-back games. He is 1-0-1 in three starts on the second night with a 2.78 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. If G Darcy Kuemper starts, it'll be his first NHL start since Jan. 6 and appearance since Jan. 20. RW Chris Stewart should be motivated. He was traded to last-place Buffalo by the Blues at last year's trade deadline. Blues C Paul Stastny has 29 points in 47 games against the Wild. C David Backes has 18 points in 31 games vs. the Wild and RW TJ Oshie has 16 points in 19 games against Minnesota.
Numbers: The Wild's power play ranks 29th on the road (10-for-96) but sixth on the penalty kill (16-for-95). … The Wild is 3-2-4 on the second night of back-to-backs. … Blues coach Ken Hitchcock won his 700th regular-season game Thursday (fourth all-time).
Injuries: Wild D Marco Scandella (oblique), LW Jason Zucker (collarbone), LW Ryan Carter (upper body), LW Matt Cooke (sports hernia) and D Keith Ballard (concussion) are out. Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery) is out and C Olli Jokinen (upper body) is questionable.
MICHAEL RUSSO
