Gameday preview: Wild vs. St. Louis

6 p.m. vs. St. Louis • Xcel Energy Center • NBCSN, 100.3-FM

Seven-game homestand opens

Preview: This is the start of a seven-game homestand, which is tied for the second longest in Wild history. The team has won four in a row at home and is 17-4 overall this season at Xcel Energy Center. St. Louis is sitting fourth in the West Division, one point ahead of Arizona. The Blues have won their past two games, both against the Avalanche.

Players to watch: Wild G Cam Talbot went 3-0 last week with a 1.67 goals-against average and .953 save percentage and was recognized as the NHL's second star of the week. LW Kevin Fiala has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak. … Blues C Ryan O'Reilly has three goals and three assists in his past two games. D Colton Parayko could play Wednesday after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury. He averages 20 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time per game, which is third among St. Louis defensemen.

Numbers: The Wild is 1-1-1 vs. the Blues this season. The team's seven-game win streak is tied for the third longest in Wild history … The Blues have lost five in a row on the road. They've scored eight power-play goals over their past seven games.

Injuries: Blues Fs Oskar Sundqvist (torn ACL), Carl Gunnarsson (right knee) and Mackenzie MacEachern (upper body) and D Vince Dunn (upper body) are out.

Sarah McLellan