St. Louis @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2018 ) Minnesota 3, St. Louis 2

What once was a firm hold on a playoff spot in the Western Conference has turned into a scrum for the Minnesota Wild, who stumbled coming out of the All-Star break and have been unable to regain their equilibrium. The Wild, losers of three straight contests and seven of eight, now must face one of the league's hottest teams when they host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon.

Minnesota opened its four-game homestand by giving up an early two-goal lead in a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia before falling in overtime to New Jersey by the same score after allowing four unanswered tallies. “We get them down and you don’t get that killer instinct and you stop playing and you try to defend all the time," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters. "It’s a losing way to play.” The white-hot Blues are one triumph shy of the franchise record after posting their ninth consecutive win with a 3-0 victory at Colorado on Saturday. St. Louis dropped its first two meetings with the Wild this season - both at home - but carry a seven-game road winning streak into Sunday's matchup.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet

ABOUT THE BLUES (30-22-5): Vladimir Tarasenko has registered 10 goals and nine assists during his career-best 11-game point streak after notching one of each in Saturday's victory. Tarasenko's seventh tally in five contests was all the offensive support needed by Jake Allen, who followed rookie Jordan Binnington's shutout on Thursday by turning aside all 32 shots he faced against the Avalanche. Binnington, who is 11-1-1 with a 1.69 goals-against average, is expected to be back in the crease on Sunday and has a chance to make history when he vies for his eighth straight victory, which would set a franchise record for a rookie netminder.

ABOUT THE WILD (27-25-6): Beleaguered goaltender Devan Dubnyk gave up all 10 goals in his last two starts - including a misplay that led to the game-winner on Friday - to draw the ire of Boudreau, who did not mince words when assessing his performance. “They weren’t good goals. Duby will be the first one to tell you,” Boudreau said. “He’s too good a goalie to be allowing that and having his confidence shaken this much. I don’t know what to say.” Although Boudreau declined to name a starter for Sunday's contest, Dubnyk yielded a total of three goals in beating St. Louis twice this season and has won five consecutive meetings.

OVERTIME

1. Blues C Brayden Schenn has registered 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in his last nine contests.

2. Wild LW Pontus Aberg (lower body) practiced on Saturday and could return to the lineup against the Blues.

3. St Louis C Ryan O'Reilly has recorded three goals and six assists in his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Blues 3, Wild 2