Stars at Wild
The Minnesota Wild attempt to bounce back from a rare regulation loss when they host the Western Conference-leading Dallas Stars on Monday. Minnesota was riding a nine-game point streak (6-0-3) that began with an overtime loss to Dallas at home on Nov. 28 before dropping a 3-2 decision at Nashville on Saturday.
The Wild have won four straight at Xcel Energy Center after losing three in a row, including the Nov. 28 meeting with the Stars. Dallas has been hit-or-miss in its last four contests, totaling 11 goals in two victories and one in a pair of losses. The Stars have netted a league-leading 113 tallies, with captain Jamie Benn's 22 topping the NHL. Defenseman John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin were the heroes as Dallas won its first two meetings with Minnesota this season - both in overtime.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific, TVA, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE STARS (24-7-2): Benn and Seguin are tied for second in the league in scoring with 44 points - six behind leader Patrick Kane of Chicago. The 26-year-old Benn is more than halfway toward his Art Ross Trophy-winning point total from last season (87) and has scored at least 22 goals in each of his six full NHL campaigns. He tallied twice on Saturday to record his fifth multi-goal performance of the season, tying Ottawa's Mike Hoffman for the league lead.
ABOUT THE WILD (17-8-6): Zach Parise scored Saturday, giving him four goals and six assists during his seven-game point streak. It is the longest run for the left wing since a seven-gamer from Jan. 24-Feb. 9, 2012 while with New Jersey on which he collected six goals and three assists. Saturday's tally was Parise's 11th of the season, tying him with Thomas Vanek for the team lead.
OVERTIME
1. Wild captain Mikko Koivu, who leads the club with 29 points, has collected four goals and five assists during his four-game streak.
2. One offensive category in which Benn is not leading Dallas is game-winning goals, as LWs Patrick Sharp and Antoine Roussel share the top spot with four apiece.
3. Three of Minnesota D Matt Dumba's five goals this season have been game-winners.