(Sports Network) - The Chicago Blackhawks attempt to put a painful losing streak behind them this evening, when the struggling club welcomes the Minnesota Wild back to the United Center.
Chicago has dropped seven consecutive games and has failed to hold late leads in each of their last two contests. In their most recent outing, the Blackhawks blew a two-goal advantage to Columbus and wound up on the short end of a 5-4 overtime decision on Tuesday.
Jason Chimera scored 2:31 into the extra period for the Blue Jackets, who trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before netting three straight goals. Chicago's Bryan Smolinski then sent the game into overtime with his second tally of the night, which came with just 1:33 remaining in regulation.
Patrick Sharp and Jimmy Vandermeer also had goals for the Blackhawks, but Nikolai Khabibulin struggled between the pipes. The veteran goaltender managed to save only 13 of 18 shots.
Chicago also allowed the Wild to climb back from a two-goal deficit when the two teams met at the United Center last Sunday. Pavol Demitra later gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory when he scored the lone goal during the shootout phase.
Manny Fernandez aided the Wild's comeback by making 38 saves and turning away all three Chicago skaters in the shootout.
The Blackhawks will also be trying to break a six-game home losing streak tonight and bring a 10-11-3 record as the host into tonight's tilt.
A loss this evening would match Chicago's longest slide of this campaign. The club had eight straight defeats from October 20-November 9.
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Chicago has dropped seven consecutive games and has failed to hold late leads in each of their last two contests. In their most recent outing, the Blackhawks blew a two-goal advantage to Columbus and wound up on the short end of a 5-4 overtime decision on Tuesday.
Jason Chimera scored 2:31 into the extra period for the Blue Jackets, who trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before netting three straight goals. Chicago's Bryan Smolinski then sent the game into overtime with his second tally of the night, which came with just 1:33 remaining in regulation.
Patrick Sharp and Jimmy Vandermeer also had goals for the Blackhawks, but Nikolai Khabibulin struggled between the pipes. The veteran goaltender managed to save only 13 of 18 shots.
Chicago also allowed the Wild to climb back from a two-goal deficit when the two teams met at the United Center last Sunday. Pavol Demitra later gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory when he scored the lone goal during the shootout phase.
Manny Fernandez aided the Wild's comeback by making 38 saves and turning away all three Chicago skaters in the shootout.
The Blackhawks will also be trying to break a six-game home losing streak tonight and bring a 10-11-3 record as the host into tonight's tilt.
A loss this evening would match Chicago's longest slide of this campaign. The club had eight straight defeats from October 20-November 9.
FULL STORY
