Morning Skate Wrap Up: Wild vs. Blackhawks

After meeting in Chicago on Tuesday night that saw Minnesota earn a 4-3 win in overtime, the Wild and Blackhawks face-off for the final time this season tonight at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN and KFAN FM 100.3. Mats Zuccarello was the hero on Tuesday, scoring his ninth career overtime goal and his fifth with Minnesota, which is T-4th most in team history. It also marked his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tying Kirill Kaprizov for the most by a Wild player this season.

In its win on Tuesday night, the Wild extended its point streak against Chicago to 19 games (18-0-1), winning the last six meetings. Per Stats Perform, Minnesota’s 19-game point streak is its longest against any opponent, and its longest point streak by one NHL team against another since the Bruins 19-game run versus the Coyotes from 2010 to 2022 and the longest versus the Blackhawks since the Canadiens’ 19-game streak from 1958 to 1960. Minnesota has not lost in regulation to the Blackhawks since December 15, 2019.

Jesper Wallstedt will get the start for Minnesota tonight. He made two saves in a brief appearance against Chicago on Tuesday night after Filip Gustavsson left the game due to an equipment malfunction. In his two previous starts against the Blackhawks, Wallstedt owns a 2-0-0 record with a 1.41 GAA, a .948 SV% and one shutout—which was his first career win in the NHL.

Bobby Brink is back in the lineup for Minnesota tonight, returning after missing the last four games due to an upper-body injury. In other injury news for the Wild, Head Coach John Hynes said Joel Eriksson Ek will miss at least the next two games while Marcus Foligno skated with the team today at morning skate, but still no timetable for his return to the lineup.

Foligno Face-Off:

Tonight marks the final Foligno Face-Off game, as fans can join Team Marcus or Team Nick by donating money to the V Foundation in an effort to raise money for Hockey Fights Cancer. Fans can find more information and make donations here.

Players to Watch:

Marcus Johansson: He enters tonight’s game one goal way from 200 for his career. In the game on Tuesday night, Johansson tallied three points (1-2=3), his seventh multi-point outing of the season. Johansson has also recorded a point (1-4=5) in three consecutive games against the Blackhawks.

Vladimir Tarasenko: Like Johansson, Tarasenko also scored a goal against Chicago on Tuesday night. In his last seven games, Tarasenko owns seven points (4-3=7), including three goals in his last two games.