Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Chicago

The essentials

Trending meets tumult when the Wild squares off against rival Chicago at 5 p.m. Sunday at the United Center.
Even with a disappointing
3-2 loss
Saturday at home, Minnesota has won 11 of its past 15 games and sits at second in the Western Conference standings. Chicago, meanwhile, will have a new face behind the bench after its 6-6-3 start to the season and 33-39-10 showing last year led to the surprise firing of Joel Quenneville earlier this month.

That's the same "Coach Q" who oversaw Stanley Cup Playoff termination of three straight Wild seasons from 2013-15.
The Blackhawks have just one win since Jeremy Colliton took over but have procured points in their past three straight games. The most recent was a 2-1 shootout loss Friday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings rank dead last in the NHL standings and were down their first two options at goaltender.
The Wild, meanwhile, receive a quick-turnaround chance to eradicate the foul taste of its Saturday finish. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, Minnesota gave up the game-winner at 18:30 of the third period to former Minnesota forward Jason Pominville.
"It's not a good feeling right now," center Eric Staal said before hopping on a charter flight to the Windy City with his teammates, "but we have to regroup and be ready for tomorrow."

Rapid response

The Wild is one of four NHL teams that haven't suffered multiple regulation losses in a row this season (Boston, Montreal and Winnipeg).

On the road again

Sunday marks Minnesota's 11th road game of the season, the sixth in 16 days this month. The Wild is 6-4-0 in 10 road games this season, ranking T-3rd in the NHL in wins and T-5th in points (12).
The Wild went 5-2-0 in a franchise record seven-game road trip that spanned 14 days, Oct. 29-Nov. 11. The five wins set a franchise high for most wins on a road trip (per NHL Stats).
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Best for last

Sunday's contest concludes Minnesota's fifth set of 15 back-to-backs this season. The Wild is 2-3-0 in the first night of back-to-backs and 4-0-0 in the second this season.
Alex Stalock is expected to start against Chicago. He is on a three-game win streak, posting a 2.61 GAA and a .910 SV% since Oct. 20. All three of his wins have come from the Wild's
second night of a back-to-back
.

Dum-Bomb

Matt Dumba netted his eighth goal of the season Saturday to stretch his goal streak to a career-best three games (3), including two power-play goals in that span. He is also on a three-game point streak.The defenseman has seven points (5-2=7) in the last nine games and 12 points (8-4 =12) in 20 games this season.
The 24-year-old ranks T-1st amongst NHL defensemen in PPG (3), second in goals and fourth in shots on goal (60). Dumba also ranks second on the Wild in shots and T-2nd in goals.

Series notes

All-Time Wild Record: 42-26-4 (23-12-2 at Xcel Energy Center, 19-14-2 at Chicago)
2018-19: Minnesota earned a 4-3 overtime victory against Chicago in the first season meeting at Xcel Energy Center (10/11) … C Eric Staal (1-2=3), D Ryan Suter (1-2=3) and LW Jason Zucker (2-1=3) each led the Wild with three points … LW Zach Parise tallied two assists … G Devan Dubnyk stopped 27-of-30 shots … LW Alex DeBrincat led the Blackhawks with three points (2-1=3) … C Jonathan Toews tallied two assists … C Dominik Kahun also netted a goal … G Cam Ward made 42 saves.

WILD LEADERS: D Ryan Suter owns 39 points (7-32=39) in 72 games against Chicago, his highest point total against any team … C Mikko Koivu has 36 points (7-29=36) in 53 matches … Staal owns 19 points (5-14=19) in 23 contests … RW Mikael Granlund owns 17 points (5-12=17) in 23 matches … RW Nino Niederreiter has 16 points (7-9=16) in 24 games.
WILD GOALIES: Dubnyk is 14-8-0 with a 2.69 GAA, a .922 SV% and two shutouts in 25 games (24 starts) vs. the Blackhawks … G Alex Stalock is 1-1-0 with a 2.42 GAA and a .938 SV% in two career starts.
BLACKHAWKS LEADERS: Toews owns 41 points (14-27=41) in 42 career games against Minnesota … RW Patrick Kane has 40 points (18-22=40) in 46 contests … D Duncan Keith owns 23 points (5-18=23) in 51 games … LW Chris Kunitz has 12 points (6-6=12) in 27 matches … D Brent Seabrook owns 12 points (4-8=12) in 54 contests.
BLACKHAWKS GOALIES: G Corey Crawford is 12-9-2 with a 2.34 GAA, a .924 SV% and one shutout in 24 games (23 starts) vs. the Wild … Ward is 3-2-4 with a 3.35 GAA and a .896 SV% in 11 starts.
CONNECTIONS: Minnesota 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.

Did you know?
Minnesota's 42 all-time wins against Chicago are its third-most wins against any NHL opponent … The Wild is 12-4-1 in its past 17 games against the Blackhawks … Minnesota is 6-2-0 in its past eight games at United Center … Minnesota is 18-10-2 in its past 30 games against Chicago, with 15 of the contests being decided by one goal and five going to a shootout.