Wild at Predators
The Minnesota Wild can go a long way toward picking their poison in the postseason on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Nashville Predators. Minnesota, which likely will finish as the second seed in the Central Division, can further cement its home-ice advantage for the first round with a victory over Nashville while a loss possibly could propel the Predators into the playoffs for a date with, well, the Wild.
First things first for Minnesota, which overcame a dismal four-game stretch (0-2-2) and pleased coach Bruce Boudreau with a complete effort in a 5-1 rout of Ottawa on Thursday. "I hope we keep building. It's one game," Boudreau told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "It'll be a little tougher in Nashville. We'll see how we do there." The Wild have fared well this season with three wins in four outings versus the Predators, who have answered a four-game winning streak by scoring just twice in back-to-back losses to remain in the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference -- two points behind third-place St. Louis in the Central Division. "Our goal is to move forward and qualify for the playoffs, and we're not there. We've got work to do," coach Peter Laviolette said on the heels of Thursday's 3-1 setback to Toronto.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Tennessee (Nashville), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE WILD (45-24-8): Eric Staal (team-leading 27 goals) extended his point streak to six games (three goals, three assists) by setting up a tally versus the Senators. The 32-year-old has pummeled the Predators with four points this season, highlighted by a two-goal performance in a 5-2 triumph on Dec. 15. Fellow forward Mikael Granlund (club-best 42 assists, 67 points) notched an assist on Thursday for his first point in six games, but the 25-year-old Finn has scored three goals and set up two others against Nashville this season.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (39-27-11): Ryan Johansen (team-best 46 assists, 59 points) believes he's discovered the secret to communicating better with linemates Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. "They talk Swedish all the time. I need to take classes this summer," said the 24-year-old British Columbia native, who has one goal and four assists in four meetings with Minnesota this season. Forsberg, who has scored three times against Minnesota this season, tallied on Thursday to become the first Nashville player to reach the 30-goal mark in consecutive campaigns while Arvidsson added an assist for his 10th point (six goals, four assists) in his last 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota G Devan Dubnyk has yielded 10 goals en route to dropping his last three starts (0-1-2), but is 3-0-0 with a 1.97 goals-against average versus Nashville in 2016-17.
2. The Predators are 0-for-11 on the power play in the last three contests.
3. Wild veteran C Martin Hanzal has recorded seven points in his last nine games and 10 (two goals, eight assists) in 15 games since being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.