Senators at Wild
With workhorse Devan Dubnyk in dire need of a breather, coach Bruce Boudreau is banking that a St. Paul native will provide a breath of fresh air for the sputtering Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock, who is also a Minnesota Duluth standout, was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League to start Thursday's home game against the Ottawa Senators.
Stalock, 29, will start his first NHL game since Feb. 16 in place of Dubnyk, who has seen his bid for a Vezina Trophy tarnished by a disastrous 2-7-2 mark and 3.31 goals-against average since March 6. "Wins and losses is all that really matters, (but) nothing is lost here. We're still the same team; I'm still the same player," Dubnyk told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. While the Wild have dropped back-to-back outings in overtime to see their losing skid extend to four in a row and nine of their last 10 (1-7-2), the Senators were victimized by an embarrassing gaffe from goaltender Craig Anderson en route to sustaining their sixth loss in eight contests (2-3-3). Anderson's bid to play the puck resulted in an uncontested game-tying goal in the third period of Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to Philadelphia, leaving Ottawa four points behind Atlantic Division-leading Montreal.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, RDS2, TSN5 (Ottawa), FSN Wisconsin, FSN North-Plus (Minnesota), NHL.TV.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (41-25-9): Kyle Turris (team-leading 26 goals) scored and set up a goal on Tuesday to increase his point total to seven (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games while moving over the 50-point plateau for the third time in four seasons. The 27-year-old Turris also tallied in Ottawa's 2-1 overtime loss to Minnesota on Nov. 13, with captain Erik Karlsson taking his familiar role in setting up the goal. The two-time Norris Trophy winner, who leads the team in both assists (53) and points (68), has collected 17 and 24, respectively, over his last 23 games.
ABOUT THE WILD (44-24-8): Zach Parise, who is arguably the face of the franchise, is looking the worse for wear after taking a high stick near his eye in Tuesday's 5-4 setback to Washington. "His eye looks pretty black and blue, but he can see and he's fine as far as that goes," Boudreau said of the 32-year-old Parise, who is expected to miss Thursday's tilt and likely the weekend's games against Nashville and Colorado, respectively. Former first-round pick Joel Eriksson Ek could find himself in the lineup in place of Parise after being recalled from Farjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota C Eric Staal (ream-leading 27 goals) has erupted for eight tallies and 11 points total in his last 11 contests.
2. Ottawa RW Bobby Ryan has been held off the scoresheet in each of his last nine games.
3. The Wild's special teams are struggling mightily, with the power play failing to score on its last 14 opportunities while the penalty kill is just 4-for-9 during the last four contests.