Mason Marchment

The Wild have now gone 12 regular-season meetings since beating the Stars in regulation.

The points are always top priority, but it’s the play of the Stars that has been most encouraging.

There are lots of questions around the Stars — about the health of Hintz and Marchment, the defensive depth chart and more.

"We miss them, right?" Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "All of a sudden you go from all kinds of scoring depth to not much."

In a game that had no business reaching that juncture, the Canucks dragged the Stars to overtime at 4-4.

The Stars' offensive struggles continue in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.

Against the Predators on Tuesday, the Stars' unit of Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment flanking Wyatt Johnston was the true top line.

"Tyler's got to grab a line and make other people better," DeBoer said. "He's that type of player. He has that capability."

Instead of sitting back in the third period with a 2-1 lead, the Stars kept their foot on the gas against the Devils.

The statistics say the Stars should have won the match, but self-inflicted errors led to a 4-0 loss against the Leafs.

The Stars have committed at least four penalties in 16 of their first 19 games. It hasn't hurt them badly yet, but it will if it continues.