Wild at Predators preview
Stalock to start for Minnesota with Dubnyk out; Forsberg could miss fourth straight for Nashville
by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
WILD (3-6-0) at PREDATORS (5-3-1)
8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV
The Game
The Minnesota Wild look for their third straight win following a 1-6-0 start to the season when they visit the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
Goalie Alex Stalock will start; No. 1 goalie Devan Dubnyk will not play because of an upper-body injury sustained at 1:59 of the second period of a 3-0 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Stalock finished the game and made 16 saves for the combined shutout.
Dubnyk could play against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Forward Jordan Greenway will not face the Predators because of an illness.
Nashville, 4-2-1 in its past seven games, could be without forward Filip Forsberg, who may miss his fourth consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.
Players to watch
Wild forward Eric Staal has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past two games.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has nine assists in a five-game point streak, with multiple points in four of them.
They said it
"It's a better feeling than losing. The last three games, I thought we've played pretty good. And we've just got to keep building on that and make it three in a row here. That'd be nice." -- Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin
"Obviously we didn't get much time together during [training] camp but I've thought over the course of these last nine games, coming into 10, we've been pretty solid. We've been making plays, and I've been trying my best. Obviously he's such a great skater, so give him the puck at the right times to help him get up the ice. So far it's been pretty seamless." -- Nashville defenseman Dante Fabbro on being paired with Mattias Ekholm
Wild projected lineup
Mats Zuccarello -- Eric Staal -- Luke Kunin
Zach Parise -- Mikko Koivu -- Jason Zucker
Marcus Foligno -- Victor Rask -- Ryan Hartman
Ryan Donato -- Gabriel Dumont -- Gerald Mayhew
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy -- Brad Hunt
Alex Stalock
Kaapo Kahkonen
Scratched: Nick Seeler
Injured: Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body), Kevin Fiala (lower body), Greg Pateryn (core), Devan Dubnyk (upper body), Jordan Greenway (upper body)
Predators projected lineup
Calle Jarnkrok -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Mikael Granlund -- Kyle Turris -- Matt Duchene
Rocco Grimaldi -- Nick Bonino -- Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis -- Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Matt Irwin
Injured: Filip Forsberg (lower body)
Status report
Rask participated in the morning skate and could play. … Eriksson Ek could play Saturday, Boudreau said. … Kahkonen was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. … Forsberg did not participate in the morning skate.
Stat pack
Koivu has 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists) in 49 games against the Predators. … Josi has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games. … Turris has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.