Preview: The Wild has gone winless in three straight, including two shutout losses. Entering Saturday's game against Pittsburgh, Colorado had gone 6-3-1 in its past 10 games and was within three points of eighth-place Dallas in the Western Conference playoff race. Wild F Chad Rau and D Steve Kampfer were called up from Houston for this game. If Kampfer -- obtained from Boston in the Greg Zanon trade -- were to play it would be his Wild debut.

Players to watch: In four games vs. Colorado this season LW Dany Heatley has five points , C Kyle Brodziak has four assists and RW Devin Setoguchi has two points. G Josh Harding has allowed 38 goals in his past 10 appearances this season. G Matt Hackett has stopped 100 of 102 shots in five NHL appearances this season. Rau has two goals in seven games with the Wild.

Numbers: The Wild has allowed the first goal 40 times this season, a league high. Minnesota has scored one or fewer goals in 23 games, including nine of the last 15. The Wild is 3-1 vs. Colorado this season, with a pair of 1-0 victories. Colorado C Ryan O'Reilly had six points in five games entering Saturday night's game. G Jean-Sebastien Giguere had not lost in five appearances since a 1-0 loss to the Wild Feb. 2. G Semyon Varlamov had a three-game winning streak halted vs. Columbus on Thursday.

Injuries: LW Guillaume Latendresse (concussion), RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard (concussion), RW Jarod Palmer (concussion), D Clayton Stoner (lower body), C Mikko Koivu (shoulder), D Mike Lundin (lower body) and G Niklas Backstrom (groin strain) are out. LW Cal Clutterbuck (upper body) and RW Nick Palmieri (upper body) were injured in Friday's game in Detroit and are questionable. For Colorado, Ryan O'Byrne (knee) is out. Chuck Kobasew (back) was listed as questionable for Colorado's game against Pittsburgh.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD