Afternoon. The Wild, looking to snap a seven-game winless streak Saturday night in the front end of consecutive games with St. Louis, resumed practice this morning after taking yesterday off.

Forward Cal Clutterbuck didn't practice due to illness, coach Todd Richards said, so assistant coach Darby Hendrickson skated on the right side of Matt Cullen and John Madden.

The Wild reassigned Warren Peters to Houston, so if Clutterbuck can't play, the Wild will likely recall Peters or another forward.

Also, John Madden was nailed on the right foot by a Clayton Stoner shot in practice. He was fuming afterward, slamming the stick and then taking a slapshot off the wall of St. Thomas' Arena. You've got to like Madden's fire! The vet's still dropping in front of shots in practice. The other day, Atlanta coach Craig Ramsay after an 8-2 loss to the Islanders t(h)rashed his team for not blocking shots in games.

But Madden was limping very badly after practice, so we'll see if he's OK to go against the Blues, too.

Marek Zidlicky, who's missed the past four games because of a hamstring injury, practiced today. But he's a question mark for tomorrow after missing so much time. I've liked Nate Prosser's game, so I'd think he'd take in.

Josh Harding, James Sheppard and Cam Barker skated before practice. Not sure about Gui Latendresse.

The Wild beat the Blues in back-to-back games last month. At the end of the second, things got real physical and ended with a Stoner-David Backes fight. I asked if Matt Kassian might come up for the game, but Richards thought Kassian was hurt. He planned to talk to GM Chuck Fletcher later today to figure out Saturday's lineup.

Defenseman Nick Schultz practiced after a long day and night yesterday at hospital. His wife, Jessica, gave birth to the couple's third child (second girl) late last night (Sydney Marie). Congrats to the Schultz's.

That's it from me. I need to finish up my Sunday package. I'm also writing a Wild column for Saturday's paper, so check that out.