Dallas @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 1, 2019 ) Dallas 2, Minnesota 3

Dallas and Minnesota each got off to miserable starts this season, but the Stars have managed to put it behind them while climbing into a tie for a second place in the Central Division. In their final game before the All-Star break, Dallas bids to extend its point streak to seven straight versus the Wild on Saturday night in Minnesota.

Even though the Stars have won seven of nine, they continue to struggle out of the gate and have been outscored 17-7 in the opening period over the last dozen games. "You're not going to win every game coming back in this league, there's no chance," coach Rick Bowness said after Thursday's 4-1 loss to Buffalo. "So even though we have won eight coming back, we've got to try to avoid putting ourselves in that predicament." The Wild had lost four straight and six of seven (1-5-1) to drop into the basement of Central Division before kicking off a seven-game homestand with a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday. “For us to get back on the horse and play the way we did shows how we’re capable of playing,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. "We want to continue that into the break here and afterward.”

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southwest, FS North, FS Wisconsin

ABOUT THE STARS (27-16-4): Defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft, assisted on Dallas' lone goal Thursday before sustaining an upper-body injury. "I think he's an elite player on his team, so anytime you lose one of those guys, doesn't matter who it is, it's going to hurt," goaltender Ben Bishop said of Heiskanen, who leads the team with 24:24 of ice time. Dallas could be getting back another blue-liner with Stephen Johns poised to return after sitting out 22 months with post-traumatic headaches.

ABOUT THE WILD (21-20-6): Coach Bruce Boudreau shuffled his lineup and rolled out three new lines versus the Lightning, but the one unit he kept intact delivered as Joel Eriksson Ek put the Wild ahead off assists from Luke Kunin and Marcus Foligno. It was the seventh point in six games for Foligno and seventh in 10 games for Eriksson Ek while Kunin notched his ninth in the last 10. “We’re just trying to work hard and talk to each other,” Eriksson Ek said, “and of course when we get a few goals together, we start to build some chemistry.”

OVERTIME

1. Wild F Zach Parise has three goals in the last two contests following a 10-game drought.

2. Stars C Tyler Seguin has 38 points in 31 games, including three in two contests this season.

3. Wild G Devan Dubnyk was 1-2-1 versus Dallas last season despite allowing eight goals.

PREDICTION: Stars 3, Wild 2