Wild aim to keep edge on Stars; Ek's status unclear

The Minnesota Wild have delivered a forceful and punishing performance to take the lead in their first-round NHL playoff series with the Dallas Stars.

The Wild are wincing a little bit themselves, though.

Joel Eriksson Ek, their best center, could be sidelined again after he missed the first two games and had his Game 3 return cut short by an apparent aggravation of the leg injury he originally suffered more than two weeks ago on a blocked shot.

Wild coach Dean Evason had no update on Eriksson Ek's status after practice Saturday. Game 4 is Sunday in Minnesota.

"He was obviously in a lot of pain, and knowing he can't go it's something serious," forward Mats Zuccarello said. "So we hope it's nothing too bad, but we'll see. The guy's a leader on this team, and we feel for him."

The Stars, of course, are missing center Joe Pavelski after the hard hit he took from Wild defenseman Matt Dumba in Game 1. The rough stuff and the tough talk has kept up from both sides and figures to continue through the end of the Central Division series.

Last year, the Wild had a 2-1 lead on St. Louis before dropping three straight games to the Blues.

"Things weren't good last year so we've talked a lot about that that we have to learn from those situations," Evason said. "Time will tell, but hopefully we have."