wild gameday

7 p.m. VS. NEW YORK RANGERS

XCEL CENTER • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild, 10-2 in its past 12 against the East, has won five in a row. After four days off, this is the third game of a five-game homestand. The Wild is 24-5-1 in its past 30 and faces the Eastern Conference's No. 1 team. A Stanley Cup finalist last season, the Rangers recently went 18-4-3 without injured goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers have won an NHL-best 25 road games.

Players to watch: C Mikko Koivu is one point from becoming the first 500-point scorer in Wild history. This will be G Devan Dubnyk's 36th consecutive start (including one with Arizona), matching Edmonton's Dwayne Roloson for the most consecutive starts in the NHL since 2009. LW Nino Niederreiter is a goal from his first 25-goal season. Rangers LW Rick Nash has scored 40 goals and has 22 points in his past 17 games against the Wild. C Derick Brassard is second with 57 points. LW Chris Kreider is second with 21 goals.

Numbers: The Rangers lead the NHL with a plus-52 goal differential. The Wild ranks sixth with a plus-33 goal differential. … The Wild has killed 76 of 81 opposing power plays in the past 30 games.

Injuries: Wild D Nate Prosser (knee), LW Jason Zucker (collarbone), LW Matt Cooke (sports hernia) and D Keith Ballard (concussion) are out. Rangers D Kevin Klein (upper body) is out.

MICHAEL RUSSO