At the Rink: Kings at Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings will play with valuable positioning for the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the line Saturday at Xcel Energy Center (8 p.m. ET; NHLN-US, SN, FS-W, FS-N).

Each team is looking to beef up its playoff credentials. With a win, the Wild can move into third place in the Central Division standings, one point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, although Chicago will have two games in hand.

For Los Angeles, a win would move it three points clear of the Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division, and depending on what happens in the game between the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars later Saturday, potentially into a tie for second in the division with Vancouver.

Minnesota, which won 4-2 against Calgary here Friday, is playing the second half of back-to-back games.

The Wild will get forward Ryan Carter back in the lineup for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 9.

Carter has three goals and 10 assists in 48 games this season, but plays critical minutes on the fourth-line and in a penalty-killing role.

"Probably a good game for him to come back into," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "He adds a physical presence to our game and certainly an important part of our defensive game. The way he builds momentum for our team is going to be important."

The Wild are playing their second back-to-back set this week after winning against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders on Monday and Tuesday. Carter said he will try and provide energy and a physical presence.

"I've got fresh legs, so that'll be good," Carter said. "I'm pretty excited. It's been awhile, tough recovery, but it feels good to get out there."

Los Angeles had its equipment inside Xcel Energy Center by early Friday morning after a 3-2 victory against the Islanders, inside a temporary locker room across the hall from the Flames room. The Kings and Flames were also in the same hotel on Thursday night.

With an opportunity to get an early peek at the Wild on Friday, Kings coach Darryl Sutter said he declined.

"Didn't see the game," Sutter said. "We see them quite a bit, their lineup hasn't changed dramatically, their coaches haven't changed, the system hasn't changed, the building hasn't changed."

The game against the Wild is the fourth of a five-game road swing, which the Kings have started with three wins. Los Angeles began the trip with the second-fewest road victories in the Western Conference.

Sutter said not much has changed, but indicated players have been better at taking advantage of their opportunities.

"Played the same way but scored on one more chance per game," Sutter said.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick will get the start for the Kings. Quick is 9-4-3 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 16 starts against Minnesota.

The Wild will counter with goalie Devan Dubnyk, who will start his 34th consecutive game since being acquired in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 14. His 35 consecutive starts overall is the longest streak in the NHL since 2009.

Here are the projected lineups:

KINGS

Marian Gaborik - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams

Dwight King - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli

Kyle Clifford - Mike Richards - Jordan Nolan

Dustin Brown - Nick Shore - Trevor Lewis

Jake Muzzin - Drew Doughty

Robyn Regehr - Andrej Sekera

Alec Martinez - Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick

Martin Jones

Scratched: Andy Andreoff, Jamie McBain, Brayden McNabb

Injured: Jarret Stoll (upper body), Tanner Pearson (leg)

WILD

Zach Parise - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville

Nino Niederreiter - Mikko Koivu - Chris Stewart

Thomas Vanek - Charlie Coyle - Justin Fontaine

Ryan Carter - Erik Haula - Jordan Schroeder

Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin

Marco Scandella - Jared Spurgeon

Jordan Leopold - Matt Dumba

Devan Dubnyk

Niklas Backstrom

Scratched: Sean Bergenheim, Darcy Kuemper, Christian Folin

Injured: Kyle Brodziak (upper body), Jason Zucker (clavicle), Matt Cooke (sports hernia), Nate Prosser (lower body), Keith Ballard (concussion/facial fractures)

Status report: Yeo said Brodziak, who will miss his third game Saturday with an upper-body injury, should be ready to practice next week.

Who's hot: Kopitar has a five-game point streak, scoring eight points over that span. … Vanek had a goal Friday against Calgary and has points in nine of his past 10 games.