ST. PAUL, Minn. -- With their position in the Stanley Cup Playoffs secure, the Minnesota Wild will play seven defensemen Sunday in their final regular season game against the Nashville Predators.
Forward Kyle Brodziak is out with a minor lower-body injury. Coach Mike Yeo said Brodziak could have played through the ailment, but the extra days off should put Brodziak at close to full strength.
"He certainly could have played but we just want to give him every opportunity to be 100 percent," Yeo said.
With Brodziak out, the Wild will slide wing Nino Niederreiter to center and suit up defenseman Clayton Stoner, who has missed the past 10 games with a knee injury. Otherwise, the Wild are not expected to rest any key players. Minnesota is 6-0-1 in its past seven games and Yeo wants the Wild to keep their current edge.
Niederreiter has never played center in the NHL, but has in the World Junior Tournament.
"Big body, it's something we actually contemplated last week," Yeo said.
Nashville did not skate Sunday after its 7-5 win Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Here are the projected lineups for the Predators and Wild:
PREDATORS
Matt Cullen - MIke Fisher - Patric Hornqvist
Gabriel Bourque - Calle Jarnkrok - Craig Smith
Rich Clune - Paul Gaustad - Eric Nystrom
Nick Spaling - Colin Wilson - Viktor Stalberg
Scratched: Michael Del Zotto
Injured: Patrick Eaves (lower body)
WILD
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Matt Moulson - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville
Matt Cooke - Nino Niederreiter
Stephane Veilleux - Cody McCormick - Justin Fontaine
Marco Scandella - Jonathon Blum
Scratched: Jake Dowell, Mike Rupp (suspended), Christian Folin
Injured: Mikael Granlund (upper body), Kyle Brodziak (lower body), Dany Heatley (lower body), Jason Zucker (quad), Keith Ballard (groin), Darcy Kuemper (upper body), Josh Harding (illness), Niklas Backstrom (abdominal)