7:30 p.m. at Dallas • American Airlines Arena • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: After a stretch of three of four at home, the Wild is away from Xcel Energy Center for six of the next seven games, beginning with games at Dallas on Tuesday and St. Louis on Wednesday. The Wild (4-7) is coming off a 5-1 win over Los Angeles on Saturday and would escape the Central Division basement with a win over the Stars. Dallas (4-8-1) lost eight of its first nine games to open the season but had a three-game winning streak end with a 3-0 home loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Players to watch: The Wild has won three of its past four games, and C Eric Staal has played key role with three goals and two assists in that span. LW Zach Parise has 31 points in 33 career games vs. Dallas. C Mikko Koivu has 34 points in 47 games vs. the Stars. G Alex Stalock (2-2, 1.98 goals-against average, .928 save percentage this season) is expected to start for the Wild. … LW Roope Hintz (6-1-7) leads Dallas in scoring, with D Miro Heiskanen (3-3-6) and C Tyler Seguin (2-4-6) right behind him. Seguin has 35 points in 29 career games against the Wild, including two game-winning goals last season. G Ben Bishop is 6-4 with a 1.48 GAA and .945 save percentage vs. the Wild. G Anton Khudobin is 1-2 with a 2.83 GAA and .891 save percentage against Minnesota.
Numbers: The Wild went 1-3-1 against the Stars last season, including 1-2 in Dallas. The Stars limited Minnesota to three goals on the final four games of the series. The Wild is 30-32-18 all-time vs. the Stars, including 10-21-8 in Dallas.
Injuries: Wild LWs Jordan Greenway (concussion protocol) and Kevin Fiala (lower body) returned to practice Monday. With the Wild reassigning F Gerry Mayhew to Iowa of the AHL, Fiala is in line to be activated off injured reserve. D Greg Pateryn (core surgery) is on injured reserve. … Stars D Andrej Sereka suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday and isn't expected to play. F's Roman Polak (fractured sternum) and Blake Comeau (lower body) are on injured reserve.
Randy Johnson
