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 Minnesota is also coming off a deflating defeat, falling in
overtime to visiting San Jose on Tuesday - its eighth loss in 10
games (2-4-4). Wild coach Mike Yeo was satisfied with his team's
performance but a lackluster practice session Wednesday prompted him
to lace into the team with an obscenity-laced rant. “We can hang our
heads, we can feel sorry for ourselves, we can point fingers ... but
those types of things are not the types of things that winners do
and those types of things do not help you get out of something like
this,” Yeo said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (26-12-2): Chicago was staring at a 2-0 deficit
just 77 seconds into the game against Colorado, marking the sixth
consecutive game in which it surrendered the opening goal. “A slow
start, a couple chances against and they’re in the back of the net,”
forward Patrick Sharp said. “A couple games now we’ve done that and
we need to fix it quickly.” With a game at Edmonton on Friday tucked
between a return matchup with the Wild on Sunday, Antti Raanta is
due to get a start for the first time since Dec. 21. ABOUT THE
WILD (18-15-5): Goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who has been pulled five
times since Nov. 13, is in the eye of the storm, drawing criticism
from Yeo for the decisive overtime tally he let in Tuesday. "We're
not in a position where we can have anybody be below average, and it
always starts and ends with goaltending," Yeo said. "It's a tricky
one trying to be sensitive to his confidence, but that goal in
overtime can't go in." Kuemper left practice Wednesday with an
injury that Yeo referred to as "minor" without talking to the
netminder.
[to top of second column] |
OVERTIME
1. Wild F Zach Parise missed Tuesday's game to spend time with his
father, former NHL player J.P. Parise, who is dealing with cancer.
2. Blackhawks F Marian Hossa has 12 goals and 23 points in 28 games
against Minnesota.
3. Wild D Marco Scandella suffered a lower-body injury Tuesday and
has been ruled out for Thursday's game.
PREDICTION: Blackhawks 4, Wild 2
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