Wild at Predators
THE STORY: Not even a three-day break could help the Minnesota Wild figure out how to shake their worst slump of the season. Now faced with possibly slipping out of the Western Conference playoff picture, the urgency level has reached a critical point as the Wild visit the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night. Once the top team in the National Hockey League, Minnesota has dropped seven straight games to plummet into sixth place in the Western Conference. With just five points separating themselves from the ninth-place Calgary Flames, the Wild are well aware of the importance of securing a win. They'll face a Predators team that has also struggled of late, having lost three of four following a five-game winning streak. Nashville outshot Detroit 32-22 in its first game out of the break, but went 0-for-5 on the power-play on the way to a 4-1 loss in a game that also cost them their No. 1 defenseman.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Nashville, Fox Sports Tennessee
ABOUT THE WILD (20-12-5): A lack of goal-scoring that has plagued Minnesota in recent years didn't appear to be a problem as the Wild racked up 20 victories in their first 30 games to open the season. That offensive deficiency has emerged in a major way over the past two weeks, with Minnesota scoring just nine goals during the losing skid. Team goals leader Kyle Brodziak has been one of the worst offenders, scoring just once over the course of the streak.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (18-14-4): Things are about to get a whole lot more difficult for Nashville, which lost franchise defenseman Shea Weber to a concussion in Monday's loss. The teams ays he'll be evaluated regularly, but there is no timetable for his return to action. Weber is third among defenseman with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 35 games. "It's tough," said teammate Greg Zanon. "I don't think you can replace a guy like that in the whole league."
OVERTIME:
1. This is the second meeting between the teams this season. Minnesota edged Nashville 3-2 in their first encounter on Nov. 23.
2. Weber and defensive partner Ryan Suter (24 points) both rank in the top 5 in defensive scoring in the league. Minnesota's top point threat from the blue line is Jared Spurgeon, who has 15 points in 37 games.