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Sliding Wild make a stop in Nashville

Dec 28, 2011 - 4:04 PM (Sports Network) - The Minnesota Wild try to halt a seven-game losing streak when they visit the Nashville Predators for tonight's battle at Bridgestone Arena.

The Wild are 0-5-2 during their slide and their last four setbacks have come in regulation. The slump has allowed Vancouver to take over first place in the Northwest Division from Minnesota and the Canucks, who play this evening in San Jose, enter tonight with a one-point edge over the Wild.

Meanwhile, the Predators have lost three of their last four contests and the club announced Tuesday that top defenseman and leading scorer Shea Weber is out indefinitely with a concussion. The team posted on its Twitter account Tuesday that Weber "will be evaluated on a daily basis with no timetable on his return."

Weber suffered the head injury in Friday's loss in Dallas and also missed Monday's setback against Detroit. He leads the Predators this season in assists (21), points (29) and plus-minus (+14). Weber is also second among NHL blueliners in points.

Without Weber, Nashville was dealt a 4-1 loss Monday by the visiting Red Wings. Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard came minutes away from posting a shutout, but Jonathon Blum scored with 2:12 left in regulation for the Predators.

Pekka Rinne made 18 saves for Nashville, which had a five-game home winning streak snapped. The Predators are 9-6-3 as the host this season.

Nashville defenseman Kevin Klein has missed the last four games with flu-like symptoms and is considered day-to-day.

The Wild have managed to score just four times over their last four games and have just nine goals during their seven-game skid. Minnesota did score more than one goal for the first time since Dec. 14 in their last game, as it dropped Monday's 4-2 decision to the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

Minnesota and Colorado were tied at 2-2 heading into the final 20 minutes on Monday, but Jan Hejda and T.J. Galiardi scored in the third period to lift the Avs to the win at Xcel Energy Center.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Cal Clutterbuck lit the lamp for the Wild, who have lost seven in a row for the first time an eight-game slide (0-7-1) from March 10-26 of last season. Niklas Backstrom allowed all four scores on 32 shots.

Wild defensemen Jared Spurgeon (upper body) and Clayton Stoner (lower body) are questionable for tonight's game. Spurgeon was injured Monday when he was checked into the boards from behind by Colorado's Cody McLeod. Stoner suffered an injury last Thursday against Edmonton and sat out on Monday.

Minnesota has lost four straight on the road, dropping the club to 10-7-2 as the guest this season.

The Wild posted a 3-2 home win over Nashville on Nov. 23 in the first of four meetings between the clubs this season. That ended a three-game slide in the series for Minnesota, which has lost three in a row and four of its last five in the Music City.