Chicago @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 27, 2018 ) Minnesota 2, Chicago 5

Patrick Kane appears determined to help the Chicago Blackhawks avoid a second consecutive season without a playoff appearance. The former Hart Trophy winner looks to extend his point streak to 11 games Saturday as Chicago seeks its fourth straight victory when it visits the Minnesota Wild.

Kane, who has collected nine goals and 16 assists while posting seven multi-point performances during his run, scored twice and had two assists in Friday's 7-3 triumph at Buffalo in the opener of the Blackhawks' three-game road trip. The club, which had been idle for nine days, has scored 17 goals during its winning streak and climbed within five points of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota entered its eight-day break with a three-game winning streak but returned Friday and suffered a 3-1 loss in Dallas to conclude a stretch of three straight road games. Defenseman Brad Hunt scored for the Wild in his second contest since being acquired from Vegas on Jan. 21.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (19-24-9): Kane, who ranks second in the league in goals (31) and points (75), reached the 900-point plateau for his career with his first score Friday. The 30-year-old has landed on the scoresheet in 26 of his last 29 contests and has gone without a point in back-to-back games only once this season (Nov. 21 and 23). Brandon Saad celebrated his 500th NHL game Friday with two goals, giving him five in as many contests while putting him four points away from 300 for his career.

ABOUT THE WILD (26-22-3): In addition to Hunt, Minnesota added two other defensemen during its layoff as it claimed Anthony Bitetto off waivers from Nashville and acquired Michael Kapla from New Jersey for fellow blue-liner Ryan Murphy. Bitetto, a 28-year-old who was a healthy scratch on Friday, recorded three assists in 18 games with the Predators while the 24-year-old Kapla, who was assigned to Iowa of the American Hockey League, hasn't appeared in the NHL since 2016-17 - when he went scoreless in five contests. Eric Staal helped set up Hunt's tally against the Stars, giving him three goals and four assists during his four-game point streak.

OVERTIME

1. Blackhawks C Drake Caggiula scored a goal and set up two others Friday after recording one assist in his first eight games since being acquired from Edmonton on Dec. 30.

2. Hunt has recorded 20 of his 35 career points on the power play, including five of his eight this season.

3. Chicago assigned 19-year-old D Henri Jokiharju, who has recorded 12 assists in 37 games this season, to Rockford of the AHL.

PREDICTION: Wild 3, Blackhawks 2