Wild gameday
6 p.m. at Boston• FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild closes a four-game road trip (1-1-1) in Boston, where the Wild is 7-1 all-time. The Wild is 2-for-19 on power plays in five games without injured Zach Parise. Its penalty kill has sunk to 29th in the NHL (74.5 percent). The Bruins are 2-6-1 at home, allowing at least five goals five times. But they rank third in the NHL overall with 3.18 goals per game and have the league's best power play (.352).
Players to watch: Wild C Charlie Coyle will play his third career game in his native Massachusetts. He has one assist in two games at Boston. D Jared Spurgeon is riding a six-game point streak, the longest of his career. RW Jason Pominville has no goals in 17 games, matching the longest of his career. Bruins F's David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron have a combined 37 points, and 20 on the power play. F's Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand have combined for 12 goals.
Numbers: In the past seven road games, the Wild has held a lead for 1 minute, 12 seconds (0.3 percent), trailed for 258:35 (59.6 percent) and was tied for 174:06 (40.1 percent). It's 1-3-3 in those games. … The Wild is 12-2-2 all-time vs. the Bruins. The Bruins are 3-for-45 vs. the Wild on the power play.
Injuries: Wild LW Ryan Carter (ill) missed Wednesday's practice. C Erik Haula (ill), who missed Tuesday's game and Wednesday's practice, was scheduled to fly to Boston and play Thursday. Parise (knee), C Tyler Graovac (sports hernia) and RW Justin Fontaine (knee) are out. Bruins F Chris Kelly (femur) is out.
Note: Wild RW Nino Niederreiter wasn't disciplined by the NHL for his check that injured Pittsburgh's Olli Maatta during Tuesday's game. The Penguins said Maatta was released from a hospital Wednesday and is expected to miss three to four weeks because of an upper-body injury.
Michael Russo
