The Chicago Blackhawks are the best team in the NHL courtesy of a perfect 6-0-0 record. The team will look to make it seven straight when it visits the Minnesota Wild (3-2-1) on Wednesday.
Chicago has showcased strong overall play through six games. The team has scored an average of 3.67 goals per game and has only allowed an average of 2.17. The special teams have been solid with the powerplay scoring 26.9 percent of the time and the penalty kill coming in at a 95.6 percent success rate. Patrick Kane leads Chicago with nine points (two goals and seven assists) while Marian Hossa leads the team with five goals. Goalie Corey Crawford was often used as the scapegoat for Chicago's poor defense last season, but he has had a solid start to the season with five wins, a 1.78 goals against average and a 933 save percentage. One interesting statistic is that Chicago's last four wins have all been single goal victories; two of the wins were in overtime. This team knows how to pull out close games, but could also fall victim to one sooner or later.
The Minnesota Wild has gotten off to a solid start but has not looked like the contender management envisioned when it signed Zach Parise and Ran Suter to massive contracts this summer. Parise has been excellent for Minnesota with five goals and four assists, but Suter looks like he misses Nashville defense partner Shea Weber. He has four assists in six games, but has made a great deal of defensive mistakes and is a -4 on the season. The team is also in dire need of secondary scoring; aside from Parise, Dany Heatley, and Mikko Koivu (first line), only one forward has a goal for this club.
The teams split the four games last season.
Prediction: Chicago will not win every game, especially if they keep them close. Minnesota will win at home 3-2.
Start Time: 8 PM EST
TV: NBCSN