Entering play Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks are eight points ahead of the Minnesota Wild, who are second in the Central Division and Western Conference with one game in hand. "The division is where we're concentrating on, and we'll see what happens outside of that," coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday. "That's our focus." Chicago did not hold a morning skate Saturday. The Blackhawks likely will start goalie Corey Crawford, who has been on a hot streak lately. Crawford has eight wins in his past 11 starts (8-2-0; 26 goals allowed). He has made at least 40 saves in three of his past five starts, including 42 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday after allowing four goals on 10 shots in his previous start. Crawford's impressive stretch has coincided with the Blackhawks run of 18 wins in their past 22 games (18-3-1). Forward Jonathan Toews, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) on a six-game point streak, has also helped fuel that run with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in his past 18 games. Quenneville needs one win for 850 in his NHL coaching career.
