Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Chicago

The essentials

The opponent

Entering on a four-game losing streak, the Chicago Blackhawks have lost eight of 10 overall and are eight points behind the Wild in the Central Division standings.
The game Saturday is the fifth and final meeting of the regular season between the clubs. Each team has won two of the previous four games, with the Blackhawks taking the lone game at Xcel Energy Center (2-0 on Nov. 4). Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane leads all players with four points, including two goals, in the games this season. Jason Zucker has one goal and three points to lead Minnesota.
Kane leads all Chicago players with 53 points and 21 goals this season. Rookie Alex DeBrincat has 19 goals and Nick Schmaltz has 15 goals and 39 points.
With goaltender Corey Crawford out indefinitely, Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass have split action between the posts. Forsberg has seen a bulk of the action, going 5-9-3 in 17 starts, with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.

Connections

• Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau skated in seven games with Chicago during the 1985-86 season.
• Wild goaltending coach Bob Mason appeared in 41 games for the Blackhawks in 1987-88.

Close calls

The Wild is 10-4-1 in its last 15 games against the Blackhawks, going 4-2-1 record in its last seven games against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is 16-10-2 in its last 28 games against Chicago with 14 of the contests being decided by one goal and five going to a shootout.