Chicago Blackhawks (44 pts, 20-5-4) @ Minnesota Wild (37 pts, 16-8-5)
7 pm CDT, Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
TV : CSN Chicago, NHLN-US
Radio : 720 AM WGN
Blackhawks’ last game : 3-4 L vs Stars
Wild’s last game : 2-0 W vs Flyers
Enemy Territory : Hockey Wilderness
Season Series/Schedule
| DATE | SCORE | W. GOAL |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 03 ’14 | ||
| Jan 23 ’14 | ||
| Dec 05 ’13 | ||
| Oct 28 ’13 | CHI 5 at MIN 1 | S. Brookbank |
| Oct 26 ’13 | MIN 5 at CHI 3 | J. Pominville |
110 : The number of shots on goal by Patrick Sharp, the 5th most in the NHL.
34 : The number of 5 on 5 goals the Wild have allowed this year, the fewest in the NHL.
32 : The number of points (16 G, 16 A) scored by Patrick Kane, which has him tied for 3rd in the NHL.
28 : The number of points (4 G, 24 A) Ryan Suter has scored in 49 games against the Blackhawks, his most against any team.
19 : The number of goals the Wild have scored in the 2nd period this year, exactly half of what the Blackhawks have tallied in the 2nd.
14 : The number of Wild players who have a least one power play point this year.
11-3-2 : The Wild’s home record this season.
10 : The number of career shutouts for Josh Harding in 144 career games.
8 : The number of wins the Wild have when being outshot, one more than they have when they outshoot their opponent.
2-0-2 : The Blackhawks’ record on Thursday this season.
Probable Blackhawks Lineup (total guess)
Forwards
Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Brandon Saad – Kris Versteeg – Patrick Kane
Jeremy Morin – Joakim Nordstrom – Sheldon Brookbank
Brandon Bollig – Marcus Kruger – Ben Smith
Defensive Pairings
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Johnny Oduya
Nick Leddy – Michal Rozsival
Goaltender
Corey Crawford (17-5-3, 2.43 GAA, .909 save %, 0 SO)
Injuries
Michael Kostka (broken foot) out, Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) out, Bryan Bickell (lower body) out, Michal Handzus (illness) out, Andrew Shaw (undisclosed) out
Leading Scorers
| PLAYER | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. Kane | 29 | 16 | 16 | 32 | -1 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| J. Toews | 29 | 12 | 13 | 25 | +10 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| D. Keith | 29 | 1 | 24 | 25 | +12 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| P. Sharp | 29 | 11 | 13 | 24 | +13 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| M. Hossa | 24 | 11 | 9 | 20 | +16 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
Probable Wild Lineup
Forwards
Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter – Charlie Coyle – Dany Heatley
Matt Cooke – Kyle Brodziak – Torrey Mitchell
Erik Haula – Zenon Konopka – Michael Rupp
Defensive Pairings
Ryan Suter – Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella – Jared Spurgeon
Keith Ballard – Clayton Stoner
Goaltender
Josh Harding (14-4-3, 1.45 GAA, .939 save %, 3 SO)
Injuries
Mikael Granlund (concussion) out
Leading Scorers
| PLAYER | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z. Parise | 28 | 11 | 12 | 23 | +6 | 18 | 6 | 2 |
| M. Koivu | 29 | 6 | 17 | 23 | +3 | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Pominville | 29 | 14 | 5 | 19 | +3 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| N. Niederreiter | 29 | 5 | 10 | 15 | +7 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Suter | 29 | 0 | 15 | 15 | -1 | 12 | 0 | 0 |