Blues at Wild preview

BLUES (35-17-10) at WILD (29-24-7)
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV

The Blues, who have outscored opponents 9-1 in their past three, lead the Colorado Avalanche by one point for first in the Central Division.
The Wild have won two straight and are 9-4-1 in their past 14 games after going 1-5-1 in their previous seven. They trail the Winnipeg Jets, who play the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, by four points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

Players to watch

Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has made 31 saves in consecutive shutouts.
Wild forward Kevin Fiala has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in his past nine games, including goals in two straight.

They said it

"They're a lot more aggressive in their forecheck and the way they're playing in the offensive zone. I coached against Dean (Evason) in the minors and his teams were always very aggressive on the forecheck and (we'll) try to play a fast, aggressive game." -- Blues coach Craig Berube
"We'll mix the lines up a little bit and have some different looks. Cliché but whenever somebody goes out, somebody has to step up. (Carson Soucy) and (Luke Kunin) are real good players for us, obviously, and we're expecting guys to step up for sure." -- Wild coach Dean Evason

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Brayden Schenn
Zach Sanford -- Robert Thomas -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Jordan Kyrou
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Ivan Barbashev -- Sammy Blais
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Marco Scandella -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Justin Faulk
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched:Robert Bortuzzo, Jacob de la Rose
Injured:Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Jay Bouwmeester (cardiac episode) Tyler Bozak (lower body)

Wild projected lineup

Zach Parise -- Eric Staal -- Kevin Fiala
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Jordan Greenway
Alex Galchenyuk -- Ryan Donato -- Mats Zuccarello
Victor Rask -- Mikko Koivu -- Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Mathew Dumba
Brad Hunt -- Greg Pateryn
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Scratched:Gerry Mayhew, Louie Belpedio
Injured:Luke Kunin (upper body), Carson Soucy (upper body)

Status report

Bozak skated briefly but will miss his second straight game and is day to day. …Soucy, a defenseman, is out 2-4 weeks and Kunin, a forward, 10-14 days. Both were injured in a 5-3 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. …Mayhew (forward) and Belpedio (defenseman) were recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

Stat pack

The Blues are 2-0-0 against the Wild this season and have points in four straight games (3-0-1). … Spurgeon has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past 14 games. … Zuccarello has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past 13 games.