Stars at Wild
THE STORY: It wasn’t all that long ago that a matchup between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild would have been a showdown between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. After a rough stretch for both clubs, now it’s a battle between two teams on the outside of the top eight of the conference. The Wild, who host the Stars on Saturday, sat on top of the conference with a 20-7-3 mark after a win on Dec. 10. Minnesota has seen the wheels come off by posting a 2-11-4 mark to fall all the way out of a playoff spot. The traditionally defensively sound Wild have surrendered 17 goals in four straight losses. The Stars opened the season with an 11-3-0 record, but have since struggled to maintain any sort of consistency. Dallas has scored a total of four goals in as many games - all losses.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, KTXA (Dallas), FSNO (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE STARS (24-20-2): After scoring at will during a four-game stretch earlier this month, Dallas has forgotten how to get the puck into the net. Whether it is the offense, defense or special teams, the Stars cannot seem to get on the same page. Lately the team has been hurting from the loss of its two top centers, All-Star Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and Mike Ribeiro (knee). Playing against the team that has allowed the most goals in the NHL on Friday, the Stars still suffered a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
ABOUT THE WILD (22-18-7): Minnesota ranks 29th in the NHL in scoring average (2.2 goals), but had gotten by on defense and goaltending during their winning streak. The Wild slipped below eighth place for the first time since Oct. 31 on the heels of a 4-1 loss at Toronto. Minnesota’s road woes have been a big problem, with the team dropping 11 straight away from the Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is 12-6-3 at home overall.
OVERTIME:
1. Minnesota has allowed at least one goal on the penalty kill in each of the last six games.
2. Dallas has won six of the last seven in the series.
3. Dallas is 4-for-45 on the power play in its last 14 games.