Preview: Wild at Red Wings

WILD (44-24-6) at RED WINGS (29-32-12)
12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, NHL.TV

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Wild team scope

Despite losing for the ninth time in 11 games, 4-2 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference when the Los Angeles Kings lost 3-0 to the New York Rangers later Saturday. "This is not good enough and we all know that," center Mikael Granlund told the Wild website after the loss. "We will get better, I am sure of that, but we've got to find it." The Wild, who have played 12 games in the past 21 days, are eight points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and conference. "There's a lot of guys I'm disappointed in right now," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I'm not going to mention names. ... We're not going to use fatigue as an excuse anymore. I don't care if we play four nights in a row, we're going to be practicing hard when we start practicing again. … See how bad they want to get out of it."

Red Wings team scope

This is the first of three games in three days for the Detroit Red Wings, who play at the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday and Tuesday. The game Monday is a makeup of one postponed Dec. 19 because of an issue with the ice at PNC Arena. "It's a first for some. The good thing is we are in the same city for the last two," captain Henrik Zetterberg told the Red Wings website. "I'd rather play than practice." Detroit did not practice Saturday. "You worry about Sunday's game then you worry about Monday's game then you worry about Tuesday's game," coach Jeff Blashill said. "I coached in tons of 3-on-3's [with Grand Rapids] in the American [Hockey] League. Let's go play Sunday and win a hockey game on Sunday. "On Friday, Blashill said forward Darren Helm, who has missed three games with a leg injury, could return to the lineup.

Wild projected lineup

Charlie Coyle -- Eric Staal -- Zach Parise
Jason Zucker -- Mikko Koivu -- Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter -- Martin Hanzal -- Jason Pominville
Chris Stewart -- Erik Haula -- Jordan Schroeder
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella -- Mathew Dumba
Jonas Brodin -- Christian Folin
Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: Ryan White, Nate Prosser
Injured: Victor Bartley (arm)

Red Wings projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Henrik Zetterberg -- Gustav Nyquist
Andreas Athanasiou -- Dylan Larkin -- Justin Abdelkader
Anthony Mantha -- Frans Nielsen -- Darren Helm
Drew Miller -- Luke Glendening -- Riley Sheahan
Danny DeKeyser -- Nick Jensen
Mike Green -- Niklas Kronwall
Robbie Russo -- Xavier Ouellet
Petr Mrazek
Jimmy Howard
Scratched: Ben Street, Tomas Nosek
Injured:Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Ryan Sproul (knee), Mitch Callahan (shoulder)

Status report

It's unclear whether Mrazek or Howard will start, but the backup likely will play Monday. ... If Helm plays, he likely would replace Nosek in the lineup, and it could be on a line with Mantha and Nielsen. ... Dubnyk likely will start after Kuemper played Saturday.

Who's hot

Staal has a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists). ... Zetterberg has two goals and four assists in the past five games. ... Nielsen has an assist in each of the past two games