Blackhawks vs Wild game preview: Teravainen, Carcillo in; Crawford starts

Teuvo Teravainen will make his second consecutive start and Corey Crawford will start in net as the Chicago Blackhawks face-off against the Minnesota Wild for the second time in three days Sunday at the United Center.

Chicago is 2-3-0 in January, alternating losses and wins since the start of the new year. The Blackhawks won two out of three after the Winter Classic, but fell 5-2 on Friday in Edmonton.

Brandon Saad scored both goals for the Blackhawks, while Antti Raanta stopped 17 shots in the loss. Saad's first goal was his 100th NHL point, and has five goals in his last seven games. He is third on the team with 12 goals and fourth with 27 points this season.

Despite scoring the opening goal for a second straight game, the Blackhawks were outshot Friday for the second straight contest. Chicago has been outshot 16-7 in the first period in the past eight games.

The most recent win came against Minnesota, a 4-2 victory Thursday in Minnesota. Crawford made 42 saves to grab two points. Minnesota outshot Chicago 37-10 in the final 40 minutes. Bryan Bickell scored a pair of goals in the third period to pull away, while Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane also lit the lamp.

Teravainen was a healthy scratch against Minnesota, but he logged 14:42 of ice time in Edmonton. Daniel Carcillo skated eight minutes over Teravainen in Minnesota. Teravinen skated on the third line along side Sharp and Andrew Shaw, while Carcillo was on the fourth line with Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith during Sunday's morning skate.

Tim Erixon is likely the Blackhawks' healthy scratch on defense; Joakim Nordstrom looks to be that among the forwards.

It was the Blackhawks' third straight win over the Wild, and second this season. Chicago has won two straight and five of the past seven match ups at the Madhouse on Madison.

Chicago, who trails Nashville by four points in the Central Division, begins a four-game homestand tonight. The Blackhawks are 14-5-1 at the United Center this season and won't play again until Friday against Winnipeg.

Crawford is 6-3-2 with a 2.35 goals against average in 12 career games against the Wild.

Opponent Breakdown: Minnesota Wild

Minnesota have stumbled into a four-game losing streak and have lost 10 of their last 12 games. The Wild sit seven points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference and in the basement of the Central.

Minnesota dropped a 3-1 decision Saturday against the visiting Nashville Predators. The Wild again got the puck on net, but Pekka Rinne made 36 saves. Charlie Coyle scored the lone goal for the Wild, while veteran Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves.

Minnesota's Zach Parise returned after a two-game absence to deal with the death of his father, former NHL player and Minnesota North Star J.P. Parise, who succumbed to lung cancer Wednesday at age 73. He recorded three shots on goal in 23:08 of ice time. The Minnesota native, is second on the team with 14 goals and points with 30.

The Wild are 8-11-0 on the road this season.

Backstrom will make his third straight start, fourth in the past five, while Darcy Kuemper recovers from a lower-body injury. Backstrom is 6-11-1 with a 2.90 GAA in 19 career games against Chicago, including a 0-2-0 mark with a 3.56 GAA and 8.77 save percentage this season.

Injury Report

Chicago: Kris Versteeg (hand) and Trevor vanRiemsdyk (knee)

Minnesota: Kuemper (lower-body), Marco Scandella (upper-body), Mikael Granlund (wrist) and Keith Ballard (concussion)

Game Information

When: 7 p.m. CT

Where: United Center

TV: NBCSN, WGN

Radio: WGN-720

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