Wild gameday
7 p.m. at Dallas • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Wild, 7-6-6 on the road, closes the first half against the NHL leaders, who have won three consecutive meetings this season. The Stars, the NHL's best home team at 17-4 and off to the best start in franchise history, have slipped a bit lately, going 2-3-1 in their past six. At one point, the Wild lost 16 in a row in Dallas. It has won two of its past four there and three times in its past eight (3-4-1).
Players to watch: LW Jamie Benn and C Tyler Seguin share the NHL-lead with 24 goals and have combined for 103 points. Benn ranks third with 10 power-play goals. Seguin is tied for sixth in the NHL with 27 assists. RW Patrick Sharp has an 11-game point streak (14 points). Wild LW Zach Parise has four goals in the past two games. In the past 12 games, RW Jason Zucker has five goals and LW Nino Niederreiter has 10 points.
Numbers: The Wild's power play is a league-worst 1-for-21 in the past 10 games. The Wild's road power play is 6 for 59 (10.2 percent), ranking 29th in the NHL. …Wild defensemen have scored 22 goals and 54 assists; the Stars' defensemen 19 goals and 84 assists.
Injuries: Wild D Nate Prosser (hand) is questionable. G Darcy Kuemper (cleared from a concussion) may back up. Stars RW Ales Hemsky (lower body) is out and D Jordie Benn (lower body) is questionable.
MICHAEL RUSSO
