Wild, Blues return to Xcel Energy Center for Game 5 tied 2-2

Wild coach Dean Evason didn't rule out making any lineup changes, but it looks like the team will call on the same group for Game 5 against the Blues on Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center.

The most recent scratches (forwards Nick Bjugstad and Connor Dewar and defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Jordie Benn) skated late Tuesday morning. That suggests the Wild won't mix up the forwards and defensemen in front of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, although the team will need a different outcome from the 5-2 loss in Game 4 to move ahead in the best-of-seven series that is currently tied 2-2.

"We went back and watched, obviously, and the take after the game was, 'Geez, we didn't get to our game,'" Evason said. "But we did. We did a lot of really good things in that hockey game. We didn't get the breaks, the chances obviously, that we did in the game prior. But we did things that we wanted to do right from the get-go."

Game 5 at 8:30 p.m.: BSN, ESPN and 100.3 FM

What didn't help the Wild in Game 4 was special teams; not only did the power play go 0-for-4, but an early four-minute penalty kill interrupted the team's rhythm even though the Wild didn't surrender a goal and Fleury was locked in with seven saves.

"We should've used that momentum to our advantage," Evason said. "We didn't. If it happens again, we'll be better suited. We'll be better off. We'll know what to do. But hopefully we don't get into that spot, where we can play 5-on-5 hockey, and we can let the players fight it out."

Projected lineup:

Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello

Kevin Fiala-Frederick Gaudreau-Matt Boldy

Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno

Nic Deslauriers-Tyson Jost-Brandon Duhaime

Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba

Jon Merrill-Alex Goligoski

Marc-Andre Fleury

Key numbers:

2: Goals for the Blues' Jordan Kyrou in Game 4.

3: Points for St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly last game.

5: Shots for the Wild during four power plays in Game 4.

5-7: Record all-time by the Wild in Game 5.

20: Missed shots by the Wild in Game 4 on Sunday.

About the Blues:

The Blues defense still isn't at full strength, but coach Craig Berube said Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo are "probably good to go." They both skated on Tuesday morning after Leddy missed the previous three games and Bortuzzo the last two; both were out with upper-body injuries. Still, St. Louis is expected to skate seven defensemen and 11 forwards like the team did for Game 4. That would keep Scott Perunovich in the lineup for a second straight game.