Wild at Blackhawks
One team is looking to remain in contention for a division title while the other is seeking to climb into a postseason berth when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Central Division-rival Minnesota Wild on Sunday. Chicago is third in the Central but can climb within three points of first-place Dallas with a victory, which would be its second in a row following a season-high four-game slide (0-3-1).
Patrick Kane is beginning to heat up again, registering three of his league-leading 92 points over his last two contests after enduring a three-game drought. Minnesota pulled within one point of Colorado for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with Saturday's 3-2 shootout triumph over Carolina with 10 games remaining. The victory was just the second in six contests for the Wild, who are 10-6-1 since John Torchetti replaced the fired Mike Yeo behind the bench. Minnesota captured each of the three previous meetings with the Blackhawks this season, including a 2-1 win at Chicago on Dec. 1.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE WILD (33-28-11): Zach Parise is one tally shy of reaching the 20-goal plateau for the third straight season and eighth time in his career. The 31-year-old Minnesota native has struggled mightily since mid-January, scoring only three times in his last 28 games. The Wild will be without Ryan Carter on Sunday as the left wing suffered an upper-body injury in the victory over the Hurricanes.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (42-24-6): Corey Crawford remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, meaning Scott Darling could make his second straight start after posting his second career shutout Friday against Winnipeg. Marian Hossa inched closer to joining the 500-goal club Friday, scoring the 498th of his career to tie Hall-of-Famer Glenn Anderson for 44th place on the all-time list. Artemi Panarin leads all rookies in goals (25), assists (37) and points (62) but has been kept off the scoresheet in each of his last four games.
OVERTIME
1. Wild RW Jason Pominville is expected to miss his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury.
2. Kane trails Washington captain Alex Ovechkin (42) by three goals in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy.
3. Minnesota C Charlie Coyle, who leads the team with 21 goals, has notched an assist in four straight contests.