Minnesota hosts Chicago after Hartman's 2-goal game
Chicago Blackhawks (15-19-6, seventh in the Central) vs. Minnesota Wild (23-10-3, fourth in the Central)
St. Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 9 p.m. EST
LINE: Wild -195, Blackhawks +164; over/under is 5.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks visit Minnesota after Ryan Hartman scored two goals in the Wild's 5-1 victory against the Blackhawks.
The Wild are 14-9-1 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota has scored 133 goals and is third in the NHL averaging 3.7 per game. Hartman leads the team with 18.
The Blackhawks are 3-6-3 against opponents in the Central. Chicago scores 2.3 goals per game, the fewest in the Western Conference. Alex DeBrincat leads them with 23 total goals.
The teams square off for the second straight game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 30 assists and has 46 points this season. Mats Zuccarello has 13 points over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Erik Gustafsson leads the Blackhawks with a plus-two in 34 games this season. DeBrincat has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 4-4-2, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.7 assists, 4.9 penalties and 12.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.
Blackhawks: 4-4-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.4 assists, 3.4 penalties and 9.9 penalty minutes while allowing 3.1 goals per game with a .901 save percentage.
INJURIES: Wild: Cam Talbot: day to day (lower body), Nick Bjugstad: out (upper body).
Blackhawks: Dylan Strome: out (health protocols).
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