Bruins vs Red Wings

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Since the Western Conference First Round series between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild has gone back and forth, with each team winning alternating games, the Blues feel there's no reason why things should change on Sunday.

Game 6 [3 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA, SN] has the Wild leading the best-of-7 series 3-2 with the chance to close the Central Division champions out on home ice.

The Blues said they doesn't see why the series can't and shouldn't be extended to Game 7 at Scottrade Center.

"We've got a lot of optimism," Blues defenseman Barret Jackman said. "We're very capable of winning on the road and when we've played our best hockey we've been pretty good. We're looking at [Sunday] afternoon as a do-or-die and we'll take it from there."

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are hopeful center Jori Lehtera will be available to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

Lehtera, who was hit with puck by teammate Jay Bouwmeester during a Game 4 victory, did not play in Game 5, which the Blues lost 4-1.

St. Louis trails the best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 at Scottrade Center (3 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, SN).

The Blues held a light optional skate Saturday. Lehtera, who centered a line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko in Game 4, participated on his own beforehand.

"He skated full today," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of Lehtera, who has two assists in four games. "He skated before everybody else. … We'll see [about Game 6]. He had a good day today."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild will look to capitalize on their latest momentum and close out the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of their Western Conference First Round series at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, SN).

The Wild lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 and have a chance to wrap things up prior to Game 7 for the first time in their history following a 4-1 victory in Game 5 at Scottrade Center on Friday.

It's the second time Minnesota has led in the series following a 3-0 win in Game 3 on Monday. The Blues answered with a 6-1 victory here in Game 4 on Wednesday.

"I think it's a good chance for us with that fresh in our minds. I think maybe it'll be good us to see what happened the last time we got a lead and maybe were a little bit comfortable," Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk said. "But that's just a lesson that's fresh in our minds and we can use and feed off of to make sure we're ready for the game tomorrow."

ST. LOUIS -- The Minnesota Wild's course of action heading into Game 5 of their Western Conference First Round series against the St. Louis Blues on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, NBCSN, SN360, FS-N, FS-MW) is to forget about what happened two days ago and move on quickly.

The Wild lost 6-1 to the Blues in Game 4 on Wednesday to even the best-of-7 series at 2-2.

For Game 5, the Wild want to move forward and counter the Blues, who altered their lineup to add speed to offset Minnesota's speed game.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues would like to be the first team in their Western Conference First Round series with the Minnesota Wild to sustain momentum built from a victory in the previous game.

The Blues and Wild, who will play a pivotal Game 5 of their best-of-7 series Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports, FS-N, FS-MW), have alternated victories through the first four games.

The Blues won 6-1 in Game 4 to reclaim home-ice advantage and hope to take control of the series with a victory at Scottrade Center on Friday. But they know it won't be easy.

And there's a chance the Blues will have to do it without center Jori Lehtera, who did not participate in the morning skate because of a lower-body injury sustained midway through the third period of Game 4 after being hit with a shot by teammate Jay Bouwmeester.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Wild will look to rebound against the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of their Western Conference First Round series at Scottrade Center on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports, FS-N).

St. Louis dominated nearly every facet of Game 4, winning 6-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday. It was the most goals Minnesota has ever allowed in a Stanley Cup Playoff game as well as its most lopsided loss.

The best-of-7 series is tied at 2-2.

The Wild did not skate Thursday but had a media gathering at the airport before departing the Twin Cities.

How Minnesota rebounds from the lopsided loss will likely play a big part in who advances to the second round. For their part, Wild players and coach Mike Yeo said the margin of defeat isn't that big a deal.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues are going back to lines that were highly successful before injuries derailed their success earlier in the regular season.

When the Blues face the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round series (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports 3, FS-MW, FS-N), they will go with units quite familiar with one other.

Alexander Steen, David Backes and T.J. Oshie made up the Blues' top line for much of the season, the "STL Line" with Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko will rejoin forces and Paul Stastny will center Patrik Berglund and Dmitrij Jaskin.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild have been at their best this season when their backs have been against the wall.

When the Wild were under .500 in January they made a trade for goaltender Devan Dubnyk and had the best record in the NHL the rest of the season.

When faced with one of the toughest schedules in the League during the final few weeks Minnesota won crucial games against other Western Conference contenders for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues held an optional skate on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, and it was a very limited optional skate.

The Blues, who trail the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in their Western Conference First Round best-of-7 series after a 3-0 loss in Game 3 on Monday, could be in line for a lineup change or two in hopes of evening the series in Game 4 on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA3, FS-MW, FS-N). However, coach Ken Hitchcock, who was in a surprisingly good mood after losing on Monday, was not forthcoming.

"Possibly," Hitchcock said when asked about lineup changes.

Hitchcock was asked about perhaps inserting a player like defenseman Robert Bortuzzo into the lineup and Hitchcock said, "I'm not commenting on who I'm putting in or taking out."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues understand that Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild on Monday (8 p.m. ET; CNBC, SN1, TVA2, FS-MW, FS-N) will bring with it a boisterous crowd at Xcel Energy Center.

But the Blues, who had the third-best points percentage on the road in the NHL during the regular season (24-12-5), have been good at taking the emotion of the home team and its crowd out of the what fuels their intensity. They keep their game plan simple and execute it accordingly, and will need that if they're going to grab back home-ice advantage with the best-of-7 series tied 1-1.

"We've got to obviously maybe play a bit more simple on the road," said right wing Patrik Berglund, who scored a goal in Game 2. "Obviously they're going to come out and play really physical and have a lot of energy in the beginning of the game. I think it's really important that we stay really calm and we play the simple north game and let that [emotion] kind of die down a bit, and then we go to work. To win series and stuff like that, you've got to steal some wins on the road. Obviously, it's a big two games here."