DALLAS _ The Wild may no longer have to worry about the Stars knocking them from their perch as the third seed in the Central Division after they won in the first half of their home-and-home series, but other challengers are lurking.
St. Louis and Colorado could still catch the Wild and bump them out of the position they've claimed for weeks and although it was impossible for those threats to disappear Saturday, they could have diminished with a Wild win _ an opportunity the team blanked on in a 4-1 loss to the Stars at American Airlines Center that snapped their season-high seven-game point streak.
Even with 96 points, the Wild won't have their future decided until the last week of the regular season _ a four-game stretch that begins Monday and wraps Saturday.
And that final push could be tough if the Wild is without Ryan Suter.
The defenseman was injured late in the second period after his right foot slammed awkwardly into the boards following a hit from Stars winger Remi Elie. Suter had to be helped off the ice, as he appeared to be putting no weight on his right foot.
He did not return to the game.
Already, the Wild are missing Suter's usual partner on the top pairing, Jared Spurgeon, who's been sidelined since he suffered a partial tear of his right hamstring March 13. And just Thursday in the 5-2 win over the Stars at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild lost defenseman Gustav Olofsson to an upper-body injury.
Amid a slew of injuries this season, the Wild have been able to persevere to be on the brink of clinching a playoff spot. But forging on without Suter _ who has appeared in every game this season after playing all 82 in 206-17 and 2015-16 _ for any length of time would be an arduous task. Not only does he lead the league in ice time, starring in every situation for the Wild, but he's been an offensive catalyst with a career-high 45 assists.
But even before Suter left the game, the Wild were in a difficult position against the Stars.
Center Jason Spezza put Dallas ahead 12 minutes, 49 seconds into the first period when he got behind the Wild defense and unleashed a backhand shot that trickled through goalie Devan Dubnyk's five-hole.
Eight minutes into the second, that deficit for the Wild grew to two when defenseman John Klingberg was left alone in the slot to accept a Jamie Benn feed and wire it by Dubnyk.
More than a minute-and-a-half of power-play time to begin the third looked like it might be just the boost the Wild needed to start a comeback. But only 19 seconds into the period, it was Dallas that converted on a redirection in front by center Radek Faksa for a shorthanded tally.
In the waning stages of that power play, the Wild was able to eventually capitalize on a deflection by winger Zach Parise _ his third goal in his last two games that extended his point streak to six games.
The Wild finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Stars went 0-for-3.
Parise's goal seemed to galvanize the Wild, but they couldn't get another puck past Lehtonen. Instead, the Stars chipped in an empty-netter from center Tyler Seguin, his 40th of the season.
Lehtonen totaled 33 saves, and Dubnyk had 32.
