Predators at Wild preview

PREDATORS (48-15-10) at WILD (41-24-8)
8 p.m. ET; FS-N+, FS-TN, NHL.TV

The Wild, who are 2-0-1 in the past three games and 10-4-1 in the past 15, and Colorado Avalanche each have 90 points, but Minnesota has holds the tiebreaker for third because it has played two fewer games.
The Predators (106 points) are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the NHL standings, but Nashville has one game in hand.
Nashville had its 15-game point streak end with a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. They're 14-1-1 in their past 16 games and have scored at least four goals in 10 of them and have allowed two goals or fewer in 12.

Players to watch

Predators Viktor Arvidsson has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak and 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in his past 16 games.
Wild forward Charlie Coyle has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a seven-game point streak.

They said it

"We know it's going to be a tough game. [The Wild] haven't played in a while, they're hungry to play, they're fighting for things as well, so it won't be easy." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette
"It's not going to be easy coming down the stretch. It's up to us, it's not up to any team losing. It's up to us winning. If we do what we're capable of doing, I think we'll be successful." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Scott Hartnell -- Nick Bonino -- Ryan Hartman
Colton Sissons -- Mike Fisher -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin -- Matt Irwin
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Miikka Salomaki, Anthony Bitetto, Yannick Weber
Injured: Calle Jarnkrok (upper body)

Wild projected lineup

Jason Zucker -- Eric Staal -- Mikael Granlund
Zach Parise -- Mikko Koivu -- Charlie Coyle
Tyler Ennis -- Matt Cullen -- Nino Niederreiter
Daniel Winnik -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Marcus Foligno
Ryan Suter -- Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin -- Ryan Murphy
Nick Seeler -- Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Scratched: Gustav Olofsson, Zack Mitchell
Injured:Luke Kunin (knee), Jared Spurgeon (hamstring)

Status report

Rinne is expected to make his third straight start. ... Dubnyk has started eight of the past nine games for the Wild.

Stat pack

Ellis has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his past 16 games. ... Forsberg has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games. … Minnesota is third in the NHL and second in the Western Conference with 55 points at home (24-6-7). The Wild have points in 27 of their past 30 home games. ... Staal is one goal away from his first 40-goal season since 2008-09 when he had 40 with the Carolina Hurricanes. He has 28 points (19 goals, nine assists) in his past 23 games.