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

Preview: The Western Conference-leading Blues beat the Wild 6-3 in St. Louis last Saturday after jumping to a 3-0 first period lead. The Wild stumbled 7-2 at Winnipeg two nights later before a 4-2 victory over upstart Vegas.

Players to watch: Unless Blues coach Mike Yeo wants to start Wild-killer Jake Allen on consecutive nights for the first time this season, he'll turn to backup goalie Carter Hutton, who has a 1.59 goals against average in six games this season. Former Wild F Kyle Brodziak entered Friday's game with three goals in his past two games for St. Louis.

Numbers: The Wild is 4-0-1 in its past five home games. The Blues are 8-3-1 on the road.

Injuries: Wild F Zach Parise (back surgery) and D Jared Spurgeon (groin) are out. Blues F Robby Fabbri (knee) and Zachary Sanford (shoulder) are out.

Joe Christensen