Preview: Blues at Wild

[January 26, 2017]  The Minnesota Wild look to wrap up a scintillating 7 1/2-week stretch when they host the St. Louis Blues in their final game before the All-Star break. Minnesota holds a two-point lead atop the Central Division and owns the best record in the Western Confernce in the wake of a spectacular 20-3-1 mark since Dec. 4.

The Wild avoided losing consecutive games for the first time since a three-game skid from Nov. 26-Dec. 2 with a 3-2 shootout win at Dallas on Tuesday night to extend their road point streak to a franchise-record 13 games (11-0-2). “You look at our track record on the road lately and it’s been pretty good,” forward Jason Pominville said. “We feel comfortable. We feel like we can win whether we’re up or down." Unlike their division rivals, the Blues have been wildly inconsistent, winning back-to-back games only once since Dec. 3, but they are coming off one of their best performances in weeks. St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, handing the Penguins only their third regulation defeat at home.

TV: 8 p.m. NBCSN

ABOUT THE BLUES (24-19-5): Coach Ken Hitchcock was leaning toward starting Jake Allen in net against the Wild, but Carter Hutton's 34-save performance in Pittsburgh scuttled those plans, particularly after St. Louis allowed 18 goals in the previous three games. "I mean there's shutouts and then there's shutouts that are highly earned," Hitchcock said. "That was a highly earned shutout and you have to reward that. Any coach has to reward that." Hutton is 2-0-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average versus Minnesota.

ABOUT THE WILD (31-11-5): Captain Mikko Koivu continued his stellar play with a power-play goal and a shootout tally at Dallas, boosting his totals to six goals and 16 points over the past 14 games. Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau views the offensive splurge from Koivu as an additional bonus. "It's those other attributes he brings," Boudreau noted. "We can put that line against any line in the League and they usually do a very good job checking them, plus they can score, which is an invaluable thing."

OVERTIME

1. Blues F Vladimir Tarasenko has not scored in a season-high eight straight games, but has six tallies and 13 points in 16 games versus the Wild.

2. Wild G Devan Dubnyk leads the league in goals-against average (1.91) and save percentage (.935), but is 5-11-2 with a 3.43 GAA versus the Blues.

3. St. Louis has won two of three meetings this season, with the home team prevailing in each.

PREDICTION: Wild 4, Blues 2

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