Wild-Blackhawks Preview

CHICAGO -- Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau is a realist.

Yes, Boudreau's club has shined throughout the regular season to establish a 3-point lead atop the Central Division and Western Conference. But nothing is guaranteed as the postseason approaches.

"We know, if we want to go anywhere, we have to go through Chicago to be successful," Boudreau told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

What better time for a high-stakes, nationally televised showdown? The Wild (43-17-6) could stretch their lead to five points with a win against the Blackhawks (42-20-5) on Sunday afternoon. Then again, Chicago could pull within one point with a victory on its home ice.

"This should get us excited," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Another opportunity to close that gap again. It's a huge game for everybody, so let's be excited."

The game marks the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the teams. The road team has won every contest so far this season as the Wild earned a win in Chicago and the Blackhawks posted a pair of wins in Minnesota.

After winning 12 of 13 games from Feb. 2 to March 4, the Blackhawks have lost back-to-back games against the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. A slumping offense has been to blame: Chicago has two goals in the past two games after scoring a whopping 55 goals in the previous 13 contests.

Minnesota is coming off a dramatic comeback win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night. The Wild trailed 4-3 in the third period before scoring four unanswered goals to seal the victory. Boudreau's club needed the win badly after losing three of its previous four games.

Goaltender Corey Crawford is expected to start in net for the Blackhawks. Crawford is 26-15-3 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. In three games this season against the Wild, he is 2-1-0 with a 2.97 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Minnesota is expected to counter in net with Devan Dubnyk, who needs one more win to establish a career high with 37 victories in a season. Dubnyk (36-14-3, 2.03 GAA, .932 save percentage) also could match the franchise record set by Niklas Backstrom, who tallied 37 wins in 2008-09.

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will try to maintain his stellar play against the Wild. In the first three meetings of the season, Toews has notched four goals and four assists to lead all scorers. Toews' teammates, Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik, both have registered two goals and two assists in three games against Minnesota.

Nino Niederreiter leads the Wild with five points (1G, 4A) in three games this season against Chicago. Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise each have notched two goals in the first three meetings.

The Blackhawks are 22-9-4 on home ice. Minnesota is 20-8-5 on the road.

"We know it's going to be a tough game," Parise told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "They have been playing some great hockey."