• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Predators-Wild Preview

Oct 27, 2009 - 8:10 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Nashville (3-6-1) at Minnesota (3-8-0), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Minnesota Wild have perhaps their best opportunity to move out of the Western Conference cellar Wednesday night.

Not only will the Wild be playing at home, where they have yet to lose, but they will face the equally woeful Nashville Predators in a matchup of two of the NHL's lowest-scoring teams.

Minnesota (3-8-0) has six points under new coach Todd Richards, one less than the Predators and Anaheim. The Wild became the first team in 13 years to fail to earn a point in its first eight road games with Monday night's 3-1 loss to Chicago.

That marked the seventh time this season the Wild scored two goals or fewer, and they are tied for next to last in the league with 2.0 goals per game.

Only the Predators (3-6-1) are worse with 1.7 per contest.

"It doesn't matter if the system is new," Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom said. "You have to find a way to win ... and pretty soon. Time is running out."

While Minnesota has been outscored 28-13 on the road, it won its three home games, each going beyond regulation. The Wild have won six straight at the Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota has not won four in a row at home during one season since a six-game run from March 15-April 3, 2008.

Andrew Brunette has been the most reliable scorer for the offensively challenged Wild, with a team-best seven goals and one in each of the last two games. Mikko Koivu, Minnesota's first-ever captain, recorded a goal and three assists in the last four games.

Nashville hasn't been any better offensively. Defenseman Shea Weber and center Jason Arnott, who is on injured reserve, are the only Predators to score more than twice this season.

The Predators have been outscored 28-12 during a 1-6-1 stretch that includes a 6-5 victory over Ottawa on Thursday night. They were blanked for the third time in that span Saturday night, 2-0 by Chicago and dropped to 1-3-0 on their season-high five-game road trip.

"We're 10 games into the season and we've put ourselves in trouble," said forward J.P. Dumont, the team's co-leader in points with seven. "We can score. We just have to play with confidence."

The Predators and Wild split four meetings last season, winning one apiece at home and on the road.

Dan Ellis dealt Backstrom his first career loss to the Predators on Feb. 6, making 22 saves in a 2-0 road victory. Backstrom is 6-1-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average versus Nashville.

The Wild won seven of the last 10 meetings with the Predators and six of eight in Minnesota since the start of the 2005-06 season.