Wild at Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks were performing well offensively for the first four weeks of the season, but they've been having issues of late. The Blackhawks hope to break out of their funk on Sunday as they conclude a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Minnesota Wild.
Chicago has had difficulty scoring goals since late October, recording fewer than three in seven of its last nine games - including a pair of shutouts. The club is 1-0-1 thus far on the homestand despite netting just one tally in each contest. Minnesota completed a 1-2-0 stretch at home with Saturday's 3-2 setback against Buffalo and returns to Xcel Energy Center for three more games following Sunday's Central Division showdown. Zach Parise returned to the lineup after missing one contest due to an illness and opened the scoring, but the Wild squandered a 2-0 lead and allowed two goals in the third period en route to their second loss in six games.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FS North Plus, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota), WGN (Chicago)
ABOUT THE WILD (12-6-2): Parise's goal versus the Sabres was the 341st of his career, moving him past Dave Christian for first place on the all-time list for Minnesota-born players. Matt Dumba also scored on Saturday to extend his streak to three games and pull him within six goals of matching the career high of 14 he recorded in 82 contests last season. Mikael Granlund, who leads the team with 19 points, remained one assist shy of 200 for his career after being kept off the scoresheet for the second time in three games.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (7-8-5): Brandon Saad has landed on the scoresheet in three of his last four contests after earning Chicago a point with his third-period goal on Friday, but the club dropped a 2-1 decision in a shootout against Los Angeles for its ninth loss in 10 games (1-6-3). Jonathan Toews recorded an assist versus the Kings, giving him a modest three-game point streak. The 30-year-old captain, who scored his 301st career goal on Monday, is 11 assists away from 400 and 10 points shy of 700.
OVERTIME
1. Wild captain C Mikko Koivu notched an assist on Saturday but still needs three goals to reach 200 in the NHL.
2. Chicago LW Andreas Martinsen registered six hits on Friday to become the first Blackhawk with at least five in three straight games since Bryan Bickell accomplished the feat from Jan. 9-16, 2015.
3. Minnesota G Alex Stalock (3-1-0) is expected to make his fifth start of the season on Sunday.