MINI-PREVIEW: STARS VS. WILD
Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars (24-7-2) are in St. Paul on Monday to take on Mike Yeo's Minnesota Wild (17-8-6). Game time at the XCel Energy Center is 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the third of five meetings this season between the teams. On Nov. 14 in Dallas, the Stars earned a 3-2 overtime win. Two weeks later in St. Paul, the Stars earned a 4-3 overtime victory. The teams will rematch again on Jan. 9 in Dallas and Feb. 9 in Minnesota.
The Stars enter this game coming off a convincing 6-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens. Stars captain Jamie Benn tallied even strength and power play goals, added an assist and registered four credited hits. Jason Spezza (one goal, two assists) and Tyler Seguin (one goal, one assist) also had multi-point performances and both Patrick Sharp and Patrick Eaves notched power play goals as the Stars busted out of a drought on the man advantage with a 3-for-8 performance.Antti Niemi earned the win in goal, turning back 21 of 23 shots.
Monday's game is the start of a back-to-back for the Stars and the middle game of a three-in-four. After a three-day break over Christmas, the Stars return to action over the weekend with a home-and-home set on Saturday in St. Louis followed by a rematch with the Blues at the American Airlines Center on Sunday.
The Wild have played strong hockey of late with a 6-1-3 record over the past 10 games. However, the team saw a three-game winning streak and nine-game point streak come to an end on Saturday with a 3-2 regulation loss in Nashville as a late-game rally fell short of producing an equalizing goal.
The Wild's schedule is identical to the Stars: first game of a back-to-back, middle game of a three-in-four. Before breaking for Christmas, the team will host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.