Blackhawks get little done vs. Wild

Just three weeks ago, the Minnesota Wild looked like a dead team, a return to the playoffs appeared impossible, and coach Mike Yeo was expected to be fired at the drop of a puck.

How times have changed, and getting goaltender Devan Dubnyk in a Jan. 14 trade from the Arizona Coyotes has helped put the Wild back on a promising path.

Tuesday night, Dubnyk recorded his third shutout in eight games with Minnesota, and he was an obvious factor in a 3-0 victory over the Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center.

But truth be told, the Wild could have signed a goalie off the street and the result likely would have been the same.

Not only did the Hawks play one of their most lethargic games of the season, they failed to score in back-to-back games for the first time since 2006. On Saturday night, Antti Niemi and the Sharks beat the Blackhawks 2-0 in San Jose.

While skating circles around the Hawks, the Wild also outshot the visitors 43-24.

"It wasn't very good," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters. "They beat us to a lot of loose pucks early and they got the lead and they shut us down. We've had a couple of tough games, and this is definitely one of them.

"I think we're standing still looking up ice for plays and they get the coverage on top of us and then they come back and regroup and had speed and we didn't have any."

Give Dubnyk credit for helping Minnesota win for the sixth time in eight games, but he didn't exactly break a sweat while blanking the Hawks.

"I thought the San Jose game, their goalie played well," Quenneville said. "Tonight, we didn't get to the net at all. We didn't have much zone time. Tonight was different. Across the board, I don't think we had too many guys you could say were dangerous or going.

"We'll throw it in the garbage can and come back and do things the right way."

The Hawks have played five straight games on the road and have two more before returning home to the United Center on Monday.

But they still looked ragged after spending two leisurely days in Las Vegas, and they should be worried about a 6-8-1 record since Jan. 1.

If it wasn't for goalie Corey Crawford, who was battered with 43 shots, the Wild could have won by a much bigger margin.

"He was rock solid," Quenneville said of his goalie. "He looked big and square. He was in tight and his rebound control was efficient."