Minnesota Wild Defeat Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2

(Sports Network) - Martin Havlat was one of four different Minnesota goal scorers and Niklas Backstrom was solid with 31 saves, as the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2, at United Center.

Antti Miettinen, Chuck Kobasew and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also scored for the Wild, who have won four of their last five games and moved within one point of idle Colorado for second place in the Northwest Division.

Patrick Sharp and Troy Brouwer tallied for the Blackhawks, who have lost two straight games and finished the month of January with a 6-4-1 mark.

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford allowed four goals on 22 shots.

Wild Travel To Chicago For Final Game Before All-Star Break

(Sports Network) - With the All-Star break and a lengthy road trip on the horizon, the Chicago Blackhawks will look to bounce back from their first regulation loss in nearly three weeks as they take on the Minnesota Wild at the United Center.

The Blackhawks carried a 5-0-1 surge into Sunday's Stanley Cup Finals rematch with the Philadelphia Flyers, but got outworked in their own building to suffer a 4-1 loss and see a four-game home winning streak come to an end.

Marian Hossa had Chicago's only goal on a penalty shot in the third period, while Corey Crawford posted 30 saves in his team's first regulation loss since Jan. 5. The Blackhawks are tied for seventh in the Western Conference, a point back of Phoenix.

"They scored the all important first goal, they got the lead and had the momentum and we didn't do a very good job of getting it back," Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we had a good start to the game, were doing a lot of good things, but that was an important goal."

Hossa's penalty shot was the first one of success at home for Chicago since Troy Murray on Dec. 30, 1987. The forward was credited with his 11th goal of the season and third of the month. Hossa has six goals and 11 points in 13 games versus the Wild.

Crawford, meanwhile, made his NHL debut versus the Wild back on Jan. 22, 2006, stopping seven shots in relief, but hasn't faced the franchise since.

The Wild are likely to get an extended look at Crawford tonight after they had a three-game win streak halted Saturday with a 4-3 setback in San Jose. Minnesota had outscored its opponents 14-1 on the win streak and fell to 7-4-0 this month.

Brent Burns had a goal and assisted on both of Mikko Koivu's power-play goals, while Niklas Backstrom ended with 38 saves. He faced 25 shots alone in the second period.

"Our execution wasn't great, and you have to give [San Jose] credit," Wild head coach Todd Richards said.

Nick Schultz is questionable for tonight's game after suffering a head injury versus the Sharks.

Minnesota is 2-1 on a four-game swing and lost for just the second time in its last seven road games.

The Blackhawks notched a 3-1 win at Minnesota on Oct. 30 to give them four victories in the last five meetings. Backstrom made 29 saves in that one, while Marty Turco posted 25 saves for Chicago.

Backstrom is 3-5-0 with a 2.67 goals-against average versus the 'Hawks and the Wild have won six of their last nine in the Windy City.

Wild Week: Rest and Relaxation

The Minnesota Wild have run into something only NFL teams encounter in their schedules. An entire week off. 

Yes, there will be practices, and the team will still have work to do, but after they play the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, they do not have another game for a week. This time off will be welcome for the players nursing injuries, and for those players whose bodies have aged a bit and could simply use some time to recuperate. A full week of rest and conditioning would be welcome in anyone's locker room.

Time off is not always a good thing. Remeber back to your school days when you would come back from spring break and not remember your locker combination? That tends to be the Wild. They forget things on long layoffs, like how to QB a power play, how to run a breakout of the defensive zone, and how to block a shot. Just this past week, they played amazing hockey against the Canucks and the Flames, then had two days off in San Jose and laid an egg against the Sharks. 

How they play against the Hawks could set the tone for this long break. If they play well, the break could be a fun occasion full of spirited practices and relaxing video sessions. If they play like they did against the Sharks, it could be a week of rough, beat down, frustrating practices and lectures from a coach who knows what this team can really do.

It's all up to the guys in the jerseys to make that decision. For now, we focus on the Hawks on Tuesday night. We'll see you then.