Minnesota Wild (27-10-3, third in the Central) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (16-22-7, seventh in the Central)
Chicago; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota square off against Chicago. He currently ranks seventh in the in the league with 52 points, scoring 18 goals and recording 34 assists.
The Blackhawks are 3-8-4 against opponents in the Central. Chicago averages 8.6 penalty minutes per game, the ninth-most in the Western Conference. Kirby Dach leads the team serving 33 total minutes.
The Wild are 7-4-1 against the rest of their division. Minnesota has scored 152 goals and is second in the Western Conference averaging 3.8 goals per game. Kaprizov leads the team with 18.
Minnesota beat Chicago 4-3 in the last meeting between these teams on Jan. 22.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with 31 assists and has 42 points this season. Alex DeBrincat has five goals over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Kaprizov leads the Wild with 34 total assists and has 52 points. Kevin Fiala has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 4-4-2, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.9 penalties and 10.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.
Wild: 8-1-1, averaging 4.3 goals, 7.3 assists, 5.1 penalties and 13.9 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .922 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews: out (concussion protocol).
Wild: Jon Merrill: out (health and safety protocols), Nick Bjugstad: out (upper body), Marcus Foligno: day to day (upper-body), Nico Sturm: out (health and safety protocols).
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