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Stars try to avoid fourth consecutive loss vs. Wild

Dec 2, 2006 - 4:40 PM Minnesota (13-11-2) at Dallas (16-9-0) 8:00 pm EST

DALLAS (Ticker) -- The Dallas Stars are in their worst slump of the season, which is a far cry from their impressive start.

Dallas hopes to avoid setting a season high with its fourth straight defeat Saturday when it opens a four-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild.

After starting the campaign with five consecutive wins and eight in their first nine games, the Stars lost all three contests of their recent road trip and have fallen 12 points behind the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division.

Jussi Jokinen scored twice and Stu Barnes netted his second goal of the season in his 1,000th career game for Dallas in Thursday's 4-3 defeat to the Washington Capitals.

Captain Brenden Morrow sat out the road trip with a groin injury and is listed as day-to-day. He has eight goals this season, including three game-winners.

Minnesota is another team that started strong but has hit a significant speed bump. The Wild won their first six games and nine of ten, but have dropped five of their last six.

Despite 20 shots on goal, Minnesota suffered a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. The loss ended the Wild's 93-game streak without being shutout, the league's second-longest active streak.

Dallas has won four straight matchups against Minnesota here and six of eight encounters overall.