Wild, Blues clash with time running out for wild-card push

The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues are playing catch-up during the stretch run of the Western Conference playoff race.

The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues are playing catch-up during the stretch run of the Western Conference playoff race.

The Wild are four points out of the final wild-card playoff slot and the Blues are six points out. That puts extra importance on their showdown Saturday in St. Louis.

Minnesota brings a six-game point streak (5-0-1) into this game.

"This is the time where you have to play your best, when it matters the most," Wild coach John Hynes said. "And I think lots of times there's different segments in the season, but this is one where you're playing meaningful games that you need to be able to play your best in those situations."

Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has been at his best while scoring eight goals and earning three assists in his last six games.

"It's easy when you start scoring more goals," Kaprizov said. "It's feeling better, and you feel better on the ice and locker room, everything. ... It's big time for us now, for the team. We still have chance to go in playoffs."

The Wild have been riding veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Since Jan. 13 he has a 1.94 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.

Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek didn't travel to St. Louis after missing Thursday's game with a lower-body injury. Rookie Marat Khusnutdinov stepped into the lineup and made his NHL debut in that game.

The Blues carry some momentum into this game, too. In their last two games they rolled over the Bruins 5-1 at Boston and defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 at home. Prior to that, they had been in a 3-7-1 rut.

"Obviously, we need every point we can get right now," Blues forward Kevin Hayes said. "When you're playing against teams that are above you, it's that much more important.

"The best part of hockey is playing meaningful games, whether that's late in the season, playoffs or where we're at right now. If you don't get amped up for these games, (you should). Every game is kind of do-or-die at the moment."

The Blues' third line has enjoyed an offensive revival after a months-long slump. Hayes had one goal in 30 games before scoring two in a five-game span. Kasperi Kapanen had one goal in 42 games before delivering at three-point performance against the Bruins.

The third member of that line, Brandon Saad, has three goals and two assists in his last five games.

"They're playing with confidence," interim Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "Obviously, in the Boston game, they were our best line. They were probably the best line on the ice. Again (Thursday), I thought they were real good for us. They're difference-makers. When they're on their game, it can free up some of our other players."

The Wild defeated the Blues 3-1 on Nov. 28 with goaltender Filip Gustavsson turning aside 23 shots. The Blues answered with a 3-1 victory on March 2 with Jordan Binnington making 21 saves.

--Field Level Media