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Red-hot Ribeiro looking to lead Stars past Wild

Dec 26, 2007 - 2:14 PM Minnesota (20-13-2) at Dallas (21-12-4) 8:30 pm EST

DALLAS (Ticker) - It appears that a season playing with Mike Modano has done wonders for Mike Ribeiro.

The 27-year-old Ribeiro will hope to keep the surging Dallas Stars on track after the Christmas break when they host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

The Stars have won 14 of their previous 19 contests and Ribeiro has been a major reason for the club's recent success. He has eight goals and 15 points over his last eight games.

Ribeiro scored a goal and set up two others to help Dallas defeated his former squad the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1, on Sunday. In his second season with the Stars, Ribeiro has 18 tallies - including three game-winners - and 18 assists thus far.

After goaltender Josh Harding led the Wild to four straight victories, Niklas Backstrom returned from his rib injury and the club was completely dominated in a 4-1 setback to the Detroit Red Wings. Minnesota yielded 51 shots on goal, while managing just 19.

Backstrom, who suffered just eight losses in 41 games last season, is 13-7-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and two shutouts this campaign. However, Harding has emerged as a reliable backup, posting a 7-6-1 record with a 2.65 GAA and .917 save percentage.