St. Louis Blues (49-22-11, third in the Central Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (53-22-7, second in the Central Division)
Saint Paul, Minnesota; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Wild -127, Blues +106; over/under is 6
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Wild host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Wild host the St. Louis Blues to open the Western Conference first round. The teams meet Monday for the sixth time this season. The Blues went 5-0 against the Wild in the regular season. In their last regular season meeting on May 2, the Blues won 4-0. David Perron led the Blues with three goals.
Minnesota has a 53-22-7 record overall and an 11-9-3 record in Central Division play. The Wild have a +56 scoring differential, with 305 total goals scored and 249 given up.
St. Louis has a 49-22-11 record overall and a 16-5-3 record in Central Division play. The Blues have a 28-8-5 record in games they score at least one power-play goal.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kirill Kaprizov has 47 goals and 61 assists for the Wild. Ryan Hartman has scored five goals and added four assists over the past 10 games.
Perron has scored 27 goals with 30 assists for the Blues. Vladimir Tarasenko has six goals and nine assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 7-2-1, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.8 assists, 4.9 penalties and 13.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
Blues: 7-2-1, averaging 4.7 goals, 8.6 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
INJURIES: Wild: None listed.
Blues: Mackenzie MacEachern: out (upper-body), Scott Perunovich: out (wrist).
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