Wild at Stars
The Minnesota Wild routinely have flexed their offensive muscle this season, scoring over three goals per contest (3.07) to remain hot on the heels of the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars. After winning four of the five meetings between the clubs in 2014-15, the Wild vie for their season-high fourth straight victory on Saturday when they attempt to subdue the high-octane Stars.
Minnesota opened its four-game road trip in style as Jason Zucker scored his second goal of the contest in overtime for a 3-2 triumph over Carolina on Thursday. While the Wild are enjoying an offensive surge, Dallas is tied with Montreal with a league-best 3.65 goals per contest. Dallas hit the high-water mark of the season on Thursday in a 6-3 victory over Winnipeg, with Tyler Seguin notching a pair of assists. The NHL's Second Star of the Week, Seguin is tied with Chicago's Patrick Kane with 25 points - recording at least one in all but three games this season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southwest-Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WILD (10-3-2): Mikael Granlund has notched an assist in two straight contests after being held off the scoresheet in each of his previous five. The 23-year-old Finn looks to continue to head in the right direction versus Dallas, against which he collected four goals and two assists in 2014-15. Devan Dubnyk made a season-high 37 saves versus the Hurricanes and is expected to receive his eighth straight start on Saturday against the Stars, against whom he is just 3-6-1 with a 3.28 goals-against average.
ABOUT THE STARS (13-4-0): Captain Jamie Benn matched Kane with his league-leading 11th goal versus the Jets, with six of those tallies coming in eight home games. The contest was the first in four weeks within the Central for Dallas, and Benn was quick to note the importance of defeating the team's fellow division representatives. "It's pretty crazy how good the Central is," Benn told the team's website. "We want to play against the best teams throughout the year, and we've got a bunch of them in our division. ... They're obviously four-point games."
OVERTIME
1. Dallas has won six of its first eight games at American Airlines Center this season, a vast improvement from its 17-16-8 mark in 2014-15.
2. Minnesota has dropped four of its last five on the road (1-2-2).
3. The Stars have six power-play goals in their last five contests.