3 Keys: Stars at Wild, Game 3 of Western 1st Round

(C2) Stars at (C3) Wild
Western Conference First Round, Game 3
Best-of-7 series tied 1-1
9:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN1, TVAS2, BSN, BSWIX, BSSW

ST. PAUL, Minn. --The Minnesota Wild return home looking to gain an edge in their Western Conference First Round series against the Dallas Stars when they play Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center on Friday.
The Wild were 25-12-4 at home this season; their .659 points percentage was tied for the sixth best in the NHL.
Forwards Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek practiced Friday, and each is considered a game-time decision.
Hartman, who scored in double-overtime in the Wild's 3-2 win in Game 1, missed Game 2 because of a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek last played April 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins because of a lower-body injury.
RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Wild series coverage]
"With both those guys, in particular, neither one would surprise me when they return," Wild coach Dean Evason said Friday. "Obviously injuries, everybody's banged up this time of year. But there's a level of banged up and both are extremely gritty players. What 'Hartsy' did in Game 1 was phenomenal. We hope to have both back obviously, hopefully tonight."
If Hartman or Eriksson Ek play, it could bump Oskar Sundqvist out of the lineup. The forward returned from a lower-body injury sustained April 6 to score a goal in the Wild's 7-3 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Filip Gustavsson was the first goalie off the ice for the Wild after their morning skate, indicating he'll start after backing up Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 2.
Here are 3 keys for Game 3:

1. Oettinger extra pumped

Not that Stars goalie Jake Oettinger isn't motivated enough in the playoffs, but winning close to his hometown provides a little more desire.
Born in Lakeville, Minnesota, about 30 miles south of St. Paul, Oettinger is 2-0-1 with a 1.57 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in four NHL games (three starts) at Xcel Energy Center.
"I mean, I'm extra motivated obviously," he said. "I want to play well in front of my family and friends and stuff, but I don't know the rhyme or reason. It's a great building. I told the guys, I remember coming here for playoff games and the atmosphere is unbelievable so it's going to be freaking awesome tonight. I can't wait."

2. Slowing Hintz

Roope Hintz has been outstanding to start this series. The center has five points (four goals, one assist), tied for the Stars lead with defenseman Miro Heiskanen (five assists), and he is tied for the NHL lead in goals with New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider.
Hintz has been lethal in different ways, be it short-handed, on the power play or on breakaways. In Game 2 he became the 15th player in Stanley Cup Playoff history, and the first since 2015, to score a hat trick with goals at even strength, on the power play and short-handed.
The Wild will try again to slow him down.
"I think just getting your bumps early on, whether it's in the offensive zone, you finish them there, then it's hard for him to get up ice," Wild forward Brandon Duhaime said. "We just have to start on the right side of things."

3. Ready for the road

The Stars know they'll be dealing with a raucous crowd at Xcel Energy Center for Game 3, but they were happy with their road game throughout the regular season and are hoping to have the same level of success now. Their .671 points percentage on the road (25-11-5) was eighth in the NHL.
"I've liked our road game all year. I think we've been a pretty unflappable group," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "We've gotten to our game quickly, we've managed those momentum swings and we got rewarded with our record this year on the road."

Stars projected lineup

Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment -- Max Domi -- Ty Dellandrea
Joel Kiviranta -- Radek Faksa -- Luke Glendening
Ryan Suter -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell --
Jani Hakanpaa
Thomas Harley -- Colin Miller
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched:Joel Hanley, Nils Lundkvist, Fredrik Olofsson, Riley Tufte
Injured:Joe Pavelski (concussion)

Wild projected lineup

Kirill Kaprizov -- Sam Steel -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Gustav Nyquist
Brandon Duhaime -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
John Klingberg -- Brock Faber
Filip Gustavsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched:Jon Merrill, Alex Goligoski, Calen Addison, Oskar Sundqvist
Injured:Ryan Hartman (lower body)

Status report

Pavelski was placed in concussion protocol Wednesday and the forward remained in Dallas. … Klingberg is probable to play after missing the past two games because of a lower-body injury.
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report