Minnesota Wild (46-25-11, third in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (47-21-14, second in the Central Division)
Dallas; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Stars host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Minnesota Wild to begin the Western Conference first round. The teams meet Sunday for the fifth time this season. The teams tied the regular season series 2-2. In their last regular season matchup on Dec. 4, the Wild won 6-5 in a shootout. Frederick Gaudreau led the Wild with two goals.
Dallas is 47-21-14 overall with an 18-4-4 record against the Central Division. The Stars have scored 281 total goals (3.4 per game) to rank seventh in the league.
Minnesota has a 46-25-11 record overall and a 16-8-2 record in Central Division play. The Wild are 22-11-2 in games they convert at least one power play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jason Robertson has 46 goals and 63 assists for the Stars. Joe Pavelski has scored seven goals with three assists over the past 10 games.
Kirill Kaprizov has 40 goals and 35 assists for the Wild. Marcus Johansson has four goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 8-2-0, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.6 assists, 2.7 penalties and 5.7 penalty minutes while giving up 1.5 goals per game.
Wild: 5-3-2, averaging three goals, 4.1 assists, 4.4 penalties and 11.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Stars: None listed.
Wild: Mason Shaw: out for season (knee), Joel Eriksson Ek: out (lower body), Oskar Sundqvist: day to day (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
