Blues at Wild
The Minnesota Wild may have earned a split on the road, but they'll need to find a way to contain Vladimir Tarasenko heading into Monday's Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the visiting St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko registered a hat trick to power St. Louis to a 4-1 victory Saturday and tie the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.
"Obviously the guy that you’re talking about, he’s a very good player and he’s going to find a way to make plays," Wild coach Mike Yeo said of Tarasenko. It was only the second road loss in 14 games - both in St. Louis - for the Wild, who dropped their last three at home and will be facing one of the league's top road teams. The Blues finished 24-12-5 away from home during the regular season and are confident heading into the Twin Cities. “We've been a good road team all year. Actually, we've been a great road team all year,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We’re going to have to play some of our best hockey.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CNBC, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE BLUES: Tarasenko and Alexander Steen missed six and five games, respectively, down the stretch but quickly reclaimed their scoring touch after being reunited on a line with rookie Jori Lehtera, amassing 14 points in three games - including the regular-season finale versus Minnesota. “They’re put together to do that kind of stuff,” Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “They’re going to get some good matchups and be able to play against some lines that hopefully we can take advantage of." Rookie Jake Allen made 24 saves Saturday to earn his first postseason victory and will be in net for the third straight contest.
ABOUT THE WILD: Forward Jason Zucker did not skate in Sunday's optional practice but said he expects to return to the lineup after taking a shot off the left thumb in Game 2 while forward Justin Fontaine also is expected back after sitting out Saturday due to illness. Devan Dubnyk, who went 27-9-2 with five shutouts with Minnesota, has seen a rise in his goals-against average (1.78 to 2.52) and a dip in his save percentage (.936 to .894) since the postseason started, but his teammates are focused on the bigger picture. “We’re in a good position," forward Charlie Coyle said. "It’s a tied series right now, going back home. We’ll take that.”
OVERTIME
1. Tarasenko has scored seven goals in his last eight playoff games.
2. Minnesota D Marco Scandella scored his team's lone goal Saturday, his third in four games dating to the regular season.
3. Shattenkirk has multiple assists in consecutive playoff games, the first St. Louis blue-liner to accomplish that since Al MacInnis in 1999.