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Wild hope to stay hot vs. Blackhawks

Feb 3, 2015 - 3:56 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Looking to surge back into the playoff picture, the Minnesota Wild aim for a season high-tying fourth straight win on Tuesday night in a matchup with the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

The Wild have won five of their last seven following a rough 3-9-4 stretch from Dec. 11-Jan. 13, getting back to within five points of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Minnesota's turnaround has coincided with the acquisition of goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2015 third-round pick, with Dubnyk going 5-1-0 with a 1.71 goals against average and .935 save percentage in seven games with two shutouts.

Dubnyk was nearing a second straight shutout on Sunday versus the Vancouver Canucks, but gave up two goals in 61 seconds late in the third period. However, Jason Zucker iced the game on an empty-net tally for a 4-2 win.

That capped a perfect week for Dubnyk as he posted a 1.00 GAA and .967 save percentage in three games. He stopped 35 shots versus the Canucks and was named the NHL's Third Star of the week on Monday.

"It got a little hairier then we expected," Dubnyk said. "Obviously with a 3-0 lead, I would like to stop that first one, that kind of gives them a little momentum. But it didn't end up mattering in the end."

Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek and Jared Spurgeon all scored for the Wild, who are looking to match their four-game win streak from Nov. 13-20.

While Dubnyk has been solid since the trade, he has struggled in his career versus the Blackhawks. In 10 lifetime meetings, including nine starts, he is 2-6-0 with a 4.28 GAA and .887 save percentage.

Chicago comes in having split the first four of a seven-game road trip, losing the finale of a three-game California trip 2-0 to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Former Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi made 31 saves to blank his old club.

Antti Raanta made 18 saves for Chicago, which had scored at least three goals in five straight but was shut out for the second time in January.

"It was one of those games where you felt something was going to come eventually and it didn't happen," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.

Patrick Kane, who came into the contest with 14 points over his past nine games, was held to a pair of shots and a minus-2 rating by the Sharks. Kane is tied for second in the NHL with 56 points.

The Blackhawks will wrap their road trip with stops in Winnipeg and St. Louis. They lead the Jets by just four points for third place in the Central Division and are four points back of the second-place Blues.

Chicago has won four in a row versus the Wild, including a 4-2 victory in Minnesota on Jan. 8.

Crawford is 7-3-2 lifetime in matchups with Minnesota, posting a 2.24 GAA and .919 save percentage.

Blackhawks forward Dan Carcillo is eligible to return tonight from a six-game suspension for a cross-check to the arm of the Jets' Mathieu Perreault back on Jan. 16.