Stars at Wild
The Dallas Stars looked strong while defeating Winnipeg in their road opener on Friday, but they will be without starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Dan Ellis will start in net for Dallas as Lehtonen was hurt in the 4-1 victory over the Jets. Ellis was scheduled to make his first start of the season on Saturday regardless, but Lehtonen’s lower-body injury is cause for concern, considering his history of groin problems.
The Wild defeated Winnipeg 2-1 on Thursday for their first home victory, improving to 1-0-2 at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is dealing with its own health issues in the crease as Josh Harding gets the start since Niklas Backstrom sprained his knee on Tuesday. Zach Parise has scored three of the team’s nine goals, highlighting Minnesota’s lack of scoring depth in the early going.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TXA 21 (Dallas), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE STARS (2-1-0): Tyler Seguin recorded his first career four-point performance with two goals and two assists on Friday. Seguin clicked well with linemate Jamie Benn, who had three points in the victory, and Alex Chiasson, who shares power-play time with Seguin. Chiasson has recorded four points in three games this season and nine goals in 10 career contests.
ABOUT THE WILD (1-1-2): Jason Pominville, who signed a five-year, $28 million contract extension last week, has one goal on 11 shots over his first four games. Charlie Coyle’s knee injury has opened another opportunity for Mikael Granlund, who has started the season with three assists, to center Minnesota’s second line. Defenseman Ryan Suter leads the league in average ice time with 29:26 per game.
OVERTIME
1. The Stars are 11-11-1 at Minnesota since the Wild joined the league in 2000.
2. Minnesota is just 10-for-15 on the penalty kill.
3. Ellis is 2-4-1 in eight career starts against Minnesota with a 2.98 goals-against average and .890 save percentage.