Wild-Montreal game preview

6 p.m. at Montreal • FSN, 100.3-FM

Preview: Coming off a listless 2-1 home loss to Edmonton, one that wasted one of the two games the Wild had in hand over the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild begins a three-game road trip against non-playoff teams, with the team two points behind Colorado for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Canadiens, finishing a disappointing season, have won two straight overall and have won their past three at home.

Players to watch: Wild LW Zach Parise ended a nine-game streak without a goal by scoring Minnesota's only goal Thursday. Parise has five points (1-4—5) in his past six games and 13 points in his past 15. C Mikko Koivu, who turns 33 Saturday, won 15 of 20 faceoffs Thursday and has three points (2-1—3) in his past four games. Darcy Kuemper is 2-1 all-time vs. Montreal with a 2.62 GAA. Devan Dubnyk is 2-1-1 all-time vs. the Canadiens with a 3.21 GAA. Montreal C Alex Galchenyuk has scored 11 goals in the past eight games; he scored his 24th and 25th of the season in the second period of Montreal's victory over Buffalo on Thursday. He's had three straight multi-goal games. LW Max Pacioretty is second on the team with 50 points.

Numbers: Galchenyuk is the 16th player in Montreal history to score 25 goals in a season before the age of 23. The Wild has scored at least one power-play goal in a franchise-record 12 straight road games. That's important, considering the team was 0-for-4 with the man advantage the past two games, both at home. The Montreal game is the first of four straight against Eastern Conference teams. The Wild is 11-13-2 vs. the East this season.

Injuries: Wild RW Jason Pominville (lower body) is out. Montreal will be without D P.K. Subban, who leads the Canadiens with 46 points. He injured his neck late in the victory over Buffalo and had to be carted off the ice. The injury isn't serious, but he won't play Thursday. C Carey Price (leg) and C Brendan Gallagher (lower body) are out. LW Daniel Carr (lower body), D Jeff Petry (sports hernia surgery), C Brian Flynn (lower body), C David Desharnais (foot), D Tom Gilbert (knee surgery) and D Nathan Beaulieu (lower body) are on injured reserve.

Kent Youngblood