DALLAS – The Wild's fate is sealed, as it'll miss out on the playoffs after advancing for six straight years.
But it's not a given which wild card seed the Stars will finish in, a dynamic that could make Saturday's season finale in Dallas livelier than the Wild's last time out.
"You're going to play hard," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "That's what we've been known to be is a hard-fought team that plays hard whether we score or have success or not. But we're not going to just sit there and throw in the towel. We're going to play as hard as we can."
In a 3-0 loss to the Bruins Thursday, the Wild skated like a team that had just been eliminated from contention. And since Boston didn't have much at stake, having already booked its ticket to the postseason, a sleepy 60 minutes ensued.
A much more up-tempo game could be on deck Saturday, though.
Dallas is just a point ahead of Colorado for the first wild card spot; the Avalanche takes on the Sharks later in the evening.
Backup Alex Stalock will remain between the pipes after starting Thursday, and winger Pontus Aberg will draw in since winger J.T. Brown is out due to illness.
Both Nick Seeler and Anthony Bitetto will play on defense, with Brad Hunt the odd-man out. And center Nico Sturm will play his second career game after making his debut against the Bruins.
