Some of Wild's top scorers have gone scoreless

The real-life horror the Wild experienced Wednesday, in a 6-1 drubbing by St. Louis, prevented winger Thomas Vanek from falling asleep.

Vanek and his teammates were trying to put a wretched Game 4 out of their minds Thursday, when they traveled to St. Louis to resume their first-round playoff series Friday. Missing the opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead, Vanek said, kept him awake long after the Blues knotted the series at two games apiece. His insomnia wasn't helped by the score sheet, which highlighted the continuing goal drought from some of the Wild's top players.

Through four games, Vanek — the Wild's third-leading scorer in the regular season — has yet to score a goal. Same goes for captain Mikko Koivu, winger Chris Stewart and center Charlie Coyle. Nino Niederreiter has only one empty-net goal.

Not counting three empty-netters, the Wild has scored six times in four games. After ramping up his production late in the regular season, Vanek is among several players still trying to find his touch in the playoffs.

"Our line, we didn't generate much [Wednesday]," said Vanek, who was tied for third on the team with 21 goals in the regular season. "I thought Game 1 and Game 3, we deserved a little better. I hit the crossbar, [Coyle] had a couple good chances, same with Nino.

"Overall, I think we're building. [In Game 4], we didn't build at all, but we haven't had the bounces that we want to. The three of us, we talk a lot. We know we can be better, and we'll be better [Friday]."

In the wake of the rout, Wild coach Mike Yeo said there was "probably a good chance" he would make some changes to the lineup. He planned to set the lineup Thursday but will not reveal it until Friday.

"I'm not even going to talk about anybody individually, because that was a whole team effort," Yeo said. "It's easy when you lose a game to sit there and look at certain individuals as far as them not producing. But there's far more that goes into that. Everybody has a way of contributing and helping us win hockey games, and [Wednesday], we didn't do enough of those things."

Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko had another fine game Wednesday with two goals, including a one-handed stunner in the second period. Entering Thursday, Tarasenko led the NHL with five playoff goals and has scored the winner in both Blues victories.

Yeo has resisted the idea of shadowing Tarasenko, because he believes that would open up opportunity for others in a deep Blues offense. Thursday, he had not changed his mind. "They've got a great team," Yeo said. "It's not one guy."

The only complaint St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock has with his young star is that Tarasenko — who has only eight shots on goal in the series — isn't shooting enough. Given his creativity and skill, Tarasenko has been allowed more freedom on offense than many teammates have, but he doesn't always take advantage. He averaged a team-high 3.4 shots per game during the regular season.

"If he gets to that stage where he shoots more often, he's even going to be more dangerous," Hitchcock said. "We talk to him every day [about shooting more]. Sometimes, the more you talk to them about shooting the puck, the less they shoot the puck. That's like Dad telling them you can't drive the car fast."

Allen is third among playoff goalies in goals-against average (1.51) and sixth in save percentage (.935). Hitchcock said he was a little worried about how Allen would react to the NHL playoff stage in his debut, but he believed the goalie's big-game experience in smaller venues — including the American Hockey League playoffs and world junior championships — would serve him well.