Wild at Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping for an encore performance from Patrick Kane on Wednesday as they seek their first three-game winning streak since mid-December when they face off against the Minnesota Wild in the opener of their six-game homestand. A former Art Ross Trophy winner, Kane registered a career-high five points in Chicago's 8-2 triumph at Ottawa on Tuesday and is three shy of 800 for his career.
Nick Schmaltz recorded two tallies and an assist, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games in the process, while captain Jonathan Toews also scored twice as 12 of the Blackhawks' 18 skaters landed on the scoresheet. Chicago, which topped Edmonton 4-1 at home on Sunday, has not captured three in a row since posting a five-game winning streak from Dec. 8-17. The last victory during that run was a 4-1 home triumph over Minnesota, which has dropped two straight after Tuesday's 3-2 overtime defeat at home to Calgary in which Mikael Granlund notched a goal and an assist. The Wild have lost four in a row on the road, scoring a total of four goals while getting shut out twice.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE WILD (22-17-4): Nino Niederreiter, who sits third on the team with 13 goals, is back on the shelf with a nagging ankle injury that sidelined him two previous times this season. The 25-year-old Swiss right wing, who is two goals shy of 100 for his career, sat out Tuesday's loss after registering a hat trick in his return to the lineup five days earlier and is expected to miss at least one week. Eric Staal leads the team in goals and is one shy of reaching the 20-goal plateau for the 11th time in 14 seasons.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (21-15-6): Erik Gustafsson was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Tuesday but was a healthy scratch against the Senators, delaying his season debut, while fellow defenseman Cody Franson was assigned to the IceHogs. A 25-year-old Swede who was a fourth-round pick of Edmonton in the 2012 draft, recorded 14 assists in 41 games with Chicago last campaign - his first in the NHL. Richard Panik skated in his 300th career contest on Tuesday and scored his first goal since Oct. 21, ending a 27-game drought.
OVERTIME
1. Blackhawks D Jordan Oesterle has recorded seven of his 10 points in 2017-18 over his last six games.
2. Minnesota C Matt Cullen is one point away from 700 for his career while D Matt Dumba needs one to reach 100 in the NHL.
3. Schmaltz, who is tied with Toews for second on Chicago with 31 points, will play in his 100th career contest on Wednesday.