Blackhawks at Jets
The teams occupying the two wild-card spots in the Western Conference face off Sunday as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Winnipeg Jets. Chicago suffered a 5-2 home loss to Columbus on Friday and was overtaken by Minnesota for third place in the Central Division a day later by virtue of the Wild's triumph over Los Angeles. The Blackhawks, who have dropped two straight and three of their last four, are one point behind Minnesota as they hold the first wild card in the West.
Winnipeg trails Chicago by four points but is three ahead of Calgary for the conference's second wild-card berth. The Jets bounced back from their first loss in six contests Thursday, skating to a 5-2 victory over Montreal after Jim Slater and Mark Scheifele each recorded a goal and an assist. The road team won each of the first four contests in the five-game season series, with Winnipeg posting a 3-0-1 record.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), City (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (44-24-6): One could hardly blame Chicago if it is becoming concerned about Corey Crawford. The netminder has allowed four goals in three of his last four starts after yielding fewer than three tallies in each of his previous seven outings. Brandon Saad ended a five-game drought Friday with his 22nd goal of the season, moving him past Marian Hossa for third on the team.
ABOUT THE JETS (39-24-12): Winnipeg's offense could receive a boost Sunday as the return of Mathieu Perreault is possible. The 27-year-old center has not played since Feb. 16 due to a lower-body injury. Perreault is fourth on the team with 18 goals, which matches his career high set last season with Anaheim. The Jets have excelled at home of late, going 12-2-2 in their last 16 contests at MTS Centre.
OVERTIME
1. The Blackhawks are 1-for-12 on the power play over their last six games.
2. Winnipeg C Bryan Little, who is tied with captain Andrew Ladd and RW Blake Wheeler for the team lead in goals with 24, has missed 10 consecutive games with an upper-body injury.
3. Chicago is 8-4-1 without superstar RW Patrick Kane, who is sidelined with a fractured clavicle.