GameDay: Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars
Wild at Stars
7 p.m. Saturday, American Airlines Center
TV: FSSW Radio: KTCK/1310 AM and 97.6 FM
Records: Wild 18-14-4, 40 points; Stars 17-14-5, 39 pts.
About the Wild: Minnesota is 2-0-1 against Dallas this season but has struggled of late. The Wild got well Friday, beating visiting Toronto 3-1, but had won just once in its previous seven games (1-3-3). With the win Friday, the Wild overtook the Stars for fifth in the seven-team NHL Central Division.
About the Stars: Dallas has won three straight, seven of eight and eight of 10. Nobody in the Western Conference has a better record over the past 10 games. The Stars went from 11 points out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the West three weeks ago to six back entering Friday’s play, according to the Stars website. Still, the Stars have played poorly against the Central this season, winning just one of 11 games (1-7-3). ... The Stars are coming off an impressive 6-0 home victory on New Year’s Eve over the Arizona Coyotes, a game coach Lindy Ruff called perhaps the best of the season. “That’s the team we want to be,” he said in his postgame remarks. ... Highly touted Stars prospect Brett Ritchie scored a goal in his NHL debut against Arizona. The 21-year-old Ritchie was a second-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.
— From online reports
This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 10:34 PM with the headline "GameDay: Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars."