The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
DALLAS -- Following a two-game homestand against Pacific Division foes, the Wild will jump right back into the Central meat grinder on Thursday night when it plays the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
The game is the first of a two-game trip against divisional foes that concludes Saturday afternoon against the St. Louis Blues.
Minnesota enters the game eight points clear of Dallas in the standings with one game in hand, and a victory over the Stars would go a long ways towards cementing its place ahead of Dallas come the end of the regular season.
The Stars currently hold the second wild card position in the Western Conference, one point behind top wild card Nashville.
The Wild is also looking to even the season series against their Lone State rivals. Minnesota throttled Dallas 7-2 in the first meeting of the year at Xcel Energy Center back in October, but as seen the tables turned in each of the past two meetings, with the Stars scoring multi-goal victories at American Airlines Center on Dec. 20 and in St. Paul last month.
It would also help build confidence as the postseason draws nearer, and these Central battles become more pronounced.
The Wild has 14 wins against the Metropolitan Division (16 games) and 13 versus the Pacific (20 games), but has just a 10-9-2 record against teams in the Central so far.
The game Thursday against Dallas is one of just four left on the Wild's schedule that will come inside the Central before the start of the postseason.
Most importantly, the road trip can help move the Wild closer to staking its claim for a First Round home series.
Minnesota begins the day Wednesday tied with the Blues with 96 points, but in second place because of the game in hand it has on St. Louis.
Should those teams meet in the postseason, the higher seed would host Games 1 and 2, as well as a potential Game 7.
Minnesota has one of the best home records in the NHL this season, with its 26-7-2 record ranking as third-best in the league.
"Everybody wants that. All the teams want that Game 7, if there is a Game 7, at home," said Wild forward Kevin Fiala. "That's a huge advantage, so we want to get as many wins as possible and get as high as possible in the standings."
While the Wild's primary focus is finding a way to home ice in the First Round, the Stars main objective is to hold off the handful of teams chasing them and the Predators for the two Western Conference wild card positions.
Vegas, Vancouver and Winnipeg remain within striking distance, and should the Kings continue to falter in the Pacific, they could be in the mix too.
Dallas has points in four of its past five and is coming off a 1-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuesday night at the AAC.
Six of Dallas' nine remaining games will come on home ice, including a four-game homestand to finish the regular season. Minnesota is the only remaining team on Dallas' home schedule that currently sits inside a playoff spot.
The Stars are led offensively by All-Star forward Joe Pavelski's 46 assists and 73 points. Jason Robertson has a team high 34 goals and Roope Hintz is right behind him with 32 goals.
Jake Oettinger, a Lakeville native, has been outstanding this season, posting a 26-13-1 record in 40 starts with a 2.53 goals against and .914 save percentage.
Scott Wedgewood, making his fourth start since being acquired by the Stars, made 25 saves in the win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
