Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. St. Louis

The essentials

The opponent

The St. Louis Blues were busy ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday, dealing centerman Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets for a prospect and future draft picks.
It wasn't entirely unexpected, as the Blues have lost six consecutive games, dropping from third in the Central Division standings to out of the Western Conference playoffs altogether.
Minnesota has won two of the teams' three matchups this season, including each of the past two. Three weeks ago, the Wild scored six consecutive goals in a 6-2 win at Scottrade Center.
Brayden Schenn leads the Blues with 24 goals and 55 points. Vladimir Tarasenko also has 24 goals and 53 points.
Carter Hutton has been the Blues' best goaltender this season, posting a 15-6-2 record with a 1.87 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage in 23 starts (27 games).

Connections

• Wild defenseman Nate Prosser skated in one game with St. Louis this season before being claimed off waivers by Minnesota on Nov. 30.
• Blues head coach Mike Yeo served as the Wild's bench boss for parts of five seasons (2011-16), posting a 173-132-44 record and leading Minnesota to the Stanley Cup Playoffs three consecutive seasons (2013-15).
• Blues assistant coach Darryl Sydor served as a Wild assistant for five seasons (2011-16).
• Blues forward Kyle Brodziak played six seasons with Minnesota (2009-15), totaling 169 points (72-97=169) in 446 games.

Feeling Blue

The Wild has points in 13 of its past 20 contests against the Blues (9-7-4). Minnesota has points in eight of its last 10 games against the Blues in St. Paul (6-2-2).
Related:
- Wild remains relatively quiet ahead of deadline - Minnesota acquires fifth-round pick from Montreal for Reilly