Wild, Blues face off in potential playoff preview

ST. LOUIS — Will the Wild stay in second place in the Central Division or be demoted to third with three weeks to go in the regular season?

That'll be decided Friday night in a key matchup against the Blues at Enterprise Center at the end of the team's four-game road trip.

"They've got a ton of everything, ton of skill up front," coach Dean Evason said. "I know they're known as a heavy, gritty team. But when we're watching, they've got a lot of skill up front with all four lines. Great challenge for us here tonight."

The Wild is currently one point ahead of St. Louis, which can jump over the Wild in the standings with a regulation win. Because the Wild has played one fewer game than the Blues, it will remain the second seed if the game progresses to overtime or a shootout.

And finishing second in the division is important because it locks up home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs where the Wild and St. Louis could potentially meet.

"Everyone wants to play for playoffs and home ice in the playoffs," said Blues winger Brandon Saad. "These are important games for us. It's a good challenge, but the biggest thing is focusing on what we control and what we can do out there."

Cam Talbot will start in net for the Wild, with Ville Husso getting the nod for the Blues. St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou wasn't ruled out by coach Craig Berube, but Kyrou's dealing with illness and didn't skate Friday morning.

This could also be a meaningful game for linemates Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.

Kaprizov is two goals away from tying the team's single season record for goals, while Zuccarello is one assist shy of setting a record for most assists in a season. He's at 50 assists, and Kaprizov has 40 goals.

Projected lineup:

Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello

Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno

Tyson Jost-Frederick Gaudreau-Kevin Fiala

Nic Deslauriers-Nick Bjugstad-Brandon Duhaime

Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin-Dmitry Kulikov

Jordie Benn-Alex Goligoski

Cam Talbot

Key numbers:

2: Goals or less by the opposition in 14 of the Wild's 19 road wins.

3: Goals or more by the Wild in 10 of its past 11 games.

5: Assists for captain Jared Spurgeon over his last five games.

9: Game point streak for Talbot.

9: Wins in Talbot's last 10 games as a starter.

About the Blues:

St. Louis is 23-9-4 on home ice this season, averaging 3.69 goals per game at Enterprise Center. The Blues' power play ranks third in the NHL at 26.1 percent, and their penalty kill is tied for sixth at 83.2 percent. They're 30-10-4 when scoring at least once on the power play. St. Louis has seven 20-goal scorers, with winger Vladimir Tarasenko's 25 leading the way.