Minnesota visits Chicago after Kaprizov's 2-goal game
Minnesota Wild (22-10-3, fourth in the Central) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (15-18-6, seventh in the Central)
Chicago; Friday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota visits the Chicago Blackhawks after Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals in the Wild's 4-3 shootout loss to the Avalanche.
The Blackhawks are 7-10-4 in Western Conference games. Chicago is last in the Western Conference averaging 4.2 assists per game. Patrick Kane leads the team with 26 total assists.
The Wild are 5-4-1 against the rest of their division. Minnesota has scored 128 goals and is third in the NHL averaging 3.7 goals per game. Kaprizov leads the team with 16.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kane has 35 total points for the Blackhawks, nine goals and 26 assists. Alex DeBrincat has seven goals over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Ryan Hartman leads the Wild with a plus-30 in 35 games this season. Kaprizov has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 4-3-3, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.7 assists, 3.6 penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with a .907 save percentage.
Wild: 4-4-2, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.6 assists, 4.6 penalties and 10.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with a .907 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: Dylan Strome: out (health protocols), Kirby Dach: out (health protocols).
Wild: Cam Talbot: day to day (lower body), Jonas Brodin: out (lower body), Nick Bjugstad: out (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.