Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Chicago

The essentials

The opponent

Few NHL teams were happier to turn the calendar to November than the Chicago Blackhawks, who lost five of their final six games in October, and won just twice in seven games since losing 5-2 to the Wild on Oct. 12.
The Blackhawks began November in style, securing a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at the United Center on Wednesday. After a scoreless first period, Chicago got second-period goals from Artem Anisimov and Jonathan Toews, and a third-period marker from Alex DeBrincat, providing goaltender Corey Crawford with more than enough support. Crawford finished with 35 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with 13 points in 13 games, including a team-best eight assists. Brandon Saad is off to a nice start in his second stint with Chicago, scoring six goals among nine points.
Crawford has been outstanding early, posting a 1.91 goals against average and .941 save percentage to go with a 6-4-0 record.

Connections

• Wild 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.

My kind of town

The Wild is 9-2-1 in its past 12 games against the Blackhawks, including a 4-1-1 record in its past six games against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is 15-8-2 in its past 25 games versus its closest southern rival, with 13 of the contests being decided by one goal and five going to a shootout.