Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson are back in the lineup and Corey Crawford starts when the Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild this morning.
Coach Joel Quenneville gave the two defensemen, both of whom were coming off injuries, a rest night when they played in Detroit. The Blackhawks enter today’s game on a two-game losing streak and three points behind the Wild. As for being ready for the early start, Quenneville said the Blackhawks have no choice.
“It’s our [usual] practice time so be ready to start on time,” Quenneville said. “It’s a huge game, meaningful for us. The last two times we played them it was almost a must-win to keep them in our sights and it’s a comparable approach here today. So that should get everyone excited from the outset. Against them, you have to have a purpose behind every shift. They have balance, depth. We all know the meaning of the game so let’s get ready to play at the drop.”
BLACKHAWKS VS. MINNESOTA WILD
11:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
Live stream: NBC Sports app
NHL
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Chicago Blackhawks
Forward lines
Nick Schmaltz-Jonathan Toews-Richard Panik
Artemi Panarin-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman-Tanner Kero-Marian Hossa
Tomas Jurco-Marcus Kruger-Jordin Tootoo
Defensive pairs
Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook
Johnny Oduya-Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brian Campbell-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltender
Corey Crawford
INJURIES/ILLNESS: Scott Darling (hand).
Minnesota Wild
Forward lines
Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Chris Stewart
Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter-Martin Hanzal-Ryan White
Charlie Coyle-Erik Haula-Jason Pominville
Defensive Pairs
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Marco Scandella-Gustav Olofsson
Goaltender
Devan Dubnyk
INJURIES/ILLNESS: Victor Bartley (torn triceps), Christian Folin (right arm).