Scott Darling will make his third consecutive start when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday at the United Center.
Darling, who made a regular scheduled start in a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia, started for Corey Crawford against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday on the road and recorded his second career shutout in a 4-0 victory. It will be the first time Darling has made three straight regular-season starts since last October, when he went 2-1 with two wins over Ottawa and a 1-0 loss to Anaheim. Michael Leighton will serve as Darling’s backup, as Crawford is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Hawks have dropped all three games this season to Minnesota being outscored 13-6, including a 6-1 loss in the Stadium Series on Feb. 21.
Chicago’s (42-24-6) top two lines combined to score three of the four goals at Winnipeg. Coach Joel Quenneville switched Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, having Kane play alongside Andrew Ladd and captain Jonathan Toews. Hossa scored his 498th goal of his career on the same line as Artem Anisimov and winger Artemi Panarin. Despite the success, Hossa was back on the top line with Kane rejoining the Russians on the second line during Sunday’s morning skate.
Kane has found plenty of success against Minnesota with 10 goals and nine assists while recording at least a point in 12 of his last 13. The NHL-leading scorer enters the game with 39 goals and 53 assists for 92 points this season.
Projected lines:
Ladd-Toews-Hossa
Panarin-Anisimov-Kane
Weise-Teravainen-Fleischmann
Desjardins-Shaw-Panik
Keith-Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson-Seabrook
TVR-Rozsival
Opponent Breakdown
Wild | Record: 33-28-11 | 77 points | 6th in Pacific Division
The Wild, who ended a two-game skid with a 3-2 shootout win over Carolina on Saturday, are one point back of Colorado for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
It will be the first time the Hawks see former assistant coach John Torchetti behind the Wild bench. Torchetti served as a Hawks assistant in 2010 when Chicago won the Stanley Cup. Minnesota is 10-6-1 since Torchetti replaced Mike Yeo on Feb. 14, but have posted a 2-3-1 mark in their past six.
Forward Ryan Carter sustained an upper-body injury against the Hurricanes and will not play. Jason Pominville will also be out with a lower-body injury, and forward Tomas Vanek could draw back into the lineup after being scratched.
Devan Dubnyk is expected to start. He has started in all three wins over Chicago.
Projected lines:
Zucker-Koivu-Coyle
Parise-Granlund-Schroeder
Niederreiter-Haula-Jones
Caron-Stoll-Fontaine
Suter-Spurgeon
Scandella-Brodin
Reilly-Dumba
Injuries
Blackhawks: Corey Crawford, Marcus Kruger
Wild: Ryan Carter, Darcy Kuemper, Jason Pominville
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports