Stars at Wild
The Minnesota Wild have surged back into postseason contention and look to keep the momentum going against another playoff hopeful when they host the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Buoyed by the acquisition of goaltender Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota is 10-1-1 in its last 12 to move within a point of eighth place in the Western Conference. The Wild won the first three meetings with the Stars this season before they were throttled at Dallas 7-1 on Jan. 3.
Dallas, which is sitting four points behind Minnesota, must regroup from a crushing home loss to Detroit on Saturday night, falling in overtime 7-6 after blowing a pair of two-goal leads in the third period. The Stars have dropped three of four since losing leading scorer Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves to injury and now face a pair of tough division road matchups against the Wild and Winnipeg. Dallas has fared well on the road, winning six of its last nine.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports
ABOUT THE STARS (27-23-9): Captain Jamie Benn continues to shoulder the offensive load in the absence of Seguin, recording seven goals and four assists during a six-game point streak. Defenseman Trevor Daley is coming off back-to-back two-point performances to raise his goal total to a career-high 16 after tallying 13 times over 111 games in the previous two seasons. Forward Ales Hemsky, who was injured in the same contest as Seguin and Eaves, returned to the lineup Saturday and collected a pair of assists to give him seven points in his last nine games.
ABOUT THE WILD (30-21-7): One of the lowest points for Minnesota was a 7-2 drubbing at Pittsburgh on Jan. 13 that capped a six-game losing streak and came one day before the acquisition of Dubnyk, who has started all 16 games since to spark the Wild to a 12-2-2 mark. Captain Mikko Koivu has been instrumental during that stretch, notching 16 points in the 16 games after blasting his teammates for an "embarrassing" performance versus the Penguins. Koivu had two assists Friday for his 114th multi-point effort to tie Marian Gaborik's team record.
OVERTIME
1. Dubnyk is 2-6-1 with a 3.43 goals-against average versus Dallas.
2. Stars backup G Jhonas Enroth could be in line for a start, but he has yielded 12 goals in two starts versus the Wild this season.
3. Wild F Zach Parise had nine goals and 23 points in 17 games against the Stars.