Wild at Predators preview

WILD (20-15-3) at PREDATORS (22-10-5)
8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-N, NHL.TV

Goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves in his first start after missing six games with a lower-body injury. The Wild look for their third straight win after going 1-4-0 in their previous five games, with backup goaltender Alex Stalock expected to start.
The Predators, 1-3-1 in their past five games after going 6-0-1 in their previous seven games, will be without forward Filip Forsberg, who did not play the final 8:40 on Friday; Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said Forsberg "left with a problem." He was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
Predators backup goaltender Juuse Saros is expected to start after Pekka Rinne made 34 saves Friday.

Players to watch

Wild forward Eric Staal has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past 10 games.
Predators forward Craig Smith has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past 10 games and had 11 shots on goal against Minnesota on Friday.

They said it

"Right now the Western Conference is so tight, there's no games that you can take off. I think we just need to take whatever preparation we had for [Friday] and look at what was working for us and come out with the same game plan [Saturday]. It's about how we play. It's not about how they play." -- Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk
"When you enter a game mentally and physically you've got to be ready for the wars and the battles, and we were slow to get out of a hole [Friday]. They were first everywhere. There's no excuse, it's got to be better. We're not going to win games by giving away first periods." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Wild projected lineup

Tyler Ennis -- Eric Staal -- Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker -- Mikko Koivu -- Mikael Granlund
Marcus Foligno -- Matt Cullen -- Zack Mitchell
Daniel Winnik -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Chris Stewart
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Mike Reilly -- Nate Prosser
Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk
Scratched: Gustav Olofsson
Injured:Zach Parise (back), Nino Niederreiter (lower body)

Predators projected lineup

Frederick Gaudreau -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Colton Sissons -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Pontus Aberg
Miikka Salomaki -- Nick Bonino -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Mattias Ekholm
Alexei Emelin -- P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin -- Yannick Weber
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Scott Hartnell, Cody McLeod, Anthony Bitetto
Injured: Ryan Ellis (knee), Filip Forsberg (undisclosed)

Status report

Gaudreau was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League to take Forsberg's place. ... Neither team held a morning skate. … Niederreiter skated on his own for the first time Friday since being injured. … Ellis could return to the lineup next week.

Stat pack

Granlund has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 20 games against the Predators. … Fiala has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past 12 games.