wild gameday

7 p.m. VS. WASHINGTON • XCEL ENERGY CENTER • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: The Wild is 8-1 in its past nine against the Eastern Conference, including five consecutive wins. The Wild, 21-5-2 in its past 28 and 19-4-1 since the All-Star break, has lost three of its past five home games. The Capitals have won three of five since blowing a third-period lead in a 2-1 home loss to Minnesota on March 5. Superstar Alex Ovechkin missed that game.

Players to watch: G Devan Dubnyk will make his 29th consecutive start for the Wild. LW Thomas Vanek has a five-game point streak. D Matt Dumba is plus-16 the past 15 games. Ovechkin and C Nicklas Backstrom are tied for second in the NHL with 71 points each, with Ovechkin leading with 45 goals, 21 power-play goals and 10 game-winners. Backstrom leads the NHL with 53 assists, and Ovechkin and Backstrom are tied for second with 30 power-play points each. Since coming from Calgary, Curtis Glencross has scored four goals in seven games.

Numbers: The Wild's NHL-best penalty kill is 60-for-63 in the past 24 games (95.2 percent). The Capitals rank first on the power play (25.7 percent), scoring on nine of 17 advantages the past eight games.

Injuries: Wild D Marco Scandella (upper body), LW Ryan Carter (upper body), D Nate Prosser (lower body), LW Jason Zucker (collarbone), LW Matt Cooke (sports hernia) and D Keith Ballard (concussion) are out. Capitals D Jon Erskine (neck) and C Jay Beagle (shoulder) are out, and D Brooks Orpik (lower body) is day-to-day.

MICHAEL RUSSO