Oilers at Wild
The Minnesota Wild's quest for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs is over, but they hope to strengthen their hold on third place in the Central Division when they face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in the final home game of the regular season. However, Minnesota - which is three points ahead of Colorado with four contests remaining - will be without a key player.
Defenseman Ryan Suter exited Saturday's 4-1 loss at Dallas in the second period with a fractured right fibula, which he suffered when he crashed awkwardly into the end boards following a check, and is out indefinitely. "I don't have to tell you how much he means to us," Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk told reporters. "We all care about each other in (this locker room), so you never want to see anyone go off hurt. But when it's one of your top defensemen, if not your top defenseman, then it's going to hurt a little bit more." Edmonton is hoping to halt its four-game slide (0-3-1) as it plays its final road game of the season. Connor McDavid's six-game point streak came to an end in Saturday's 3-2 loss at Calgary, but the 21-year-old captain still is on track for his second straight Art Ross Trophy as he leads the NHL with a career-high 103 points.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Edmonton), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE OILERS (34-39-6): McDavid, who collected seven goals and seven assists during his run, is six points ahead of Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov in the race for the scoring title. The third-year center was named the NHL's First Star of the Month for March after collecting 13 tallies and 15 assists in 16 contests. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' status is unknown after the 24-year-old center missed the game against the Flames due to a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE WILD (43-25-10): To provide depth due to the loss of Suter, fellow defenseman Carson Soucy was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Sunday. The 23-year-old has recorded one goal and 14 assists in 67 games with Iowa while posting a team-leading plus-12 rating. Zach Parise netted his third tally in two contests Saturday, giving him five goals and two assists during his six-game point streak.
OVERTIME
1. Wild RW Mikael Granlund has recorded five points over his last three games and is five away from matching the career high of 69 he set last season.
2. Edmonton LW Anton Slepyshev, who ended his 14-game goal-scoring drought in the loss to Calgary, is expected to appear in his 100th NHL contest on Monday.
3. Minnesota D Jonas Brodin, who skated in his 400th career game on Saturday, is three points shy of 100 for his career.