Predators at Wild
Coach Bruce Boudreau has little interest that the Minnesota Wild have already matched last season's win total, let alone with 25 games remaining. Boasting an 8-2-1 mark in their last 11 contests, the Western Conference-leading Wild look to continue their winning ways on Saturday when they host the Nashville Predators in the sixth contest of their season-high eight-game homestand.
"That doesn't mean anything to me. I think we've got bigger fish to fry than that," Boudreau said after the team recorded its 38th win with a 3-1 victory over Dallas. Boudreau's primary interest remains the Central Division title and the Wild own a seven-point lead over second-place Chicago heading into key tilts with the Predators and Blackhawks prior to their mandated bye week. Nashville is returning from its bye week following an uneven 5-4-1 stretch that began with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota on Jan. 22. Filip Forsberg scored twice in that contest and has three goals versus the Wild this season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), FSN Wisconsin, FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (27-21-8): The break came at a bad time for Viktor Arvidsson (team-leading 18 goals), who netted his first career hat trick and finished with seven points (five goals, two assists) in his last four contests to earn the NHL's Third Star of the Week. The 23-year-old Swede has recorded three multi-point performances in his last six outings and resides just one point behind Ryan Johansen for the team lead. Speaking of Johansen, the 24-year-old has collected five (one goal, four assists) of his 40 points this season versus Minnesota.
ABOUT THE WILD (38-13-6): Veteran defenseman Ryan Suter scored his eighth goal of the season on Thursday, marking the fourth time he's reached that total in his career - with three of those occasions occurring in the last four campaigns. The fourth power-play tally of the season established a personal best for the 32-year-old Suter, who would love to set a career high in goals versus the Predators, with whom he spent the first seven years of his career. Captain Mikko Koivu has spent his entire career with Minnesota and is showing no signs of slowing down, collecting 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in his last 24 games to reside two away from 600.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota has recorded at least a point in 14 of its last 15 games (11-1-3) versus Central Division rivals.
2. Predators G Pekka Rinne, who is 1-1-1 versus the Wild this season, owns a 9-4-0 mark with a .925 save percentage since Jan. 5.
3. Minnesota, which boasts the NHL's seventh-ranked power play, is 21-5-2 when it scores at least once with the man advantage this season.