Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin scored on Chicago's first two shots, Corey Crawford made 42 saves and the Blackhawks defeated Minnesota 4-2 on Sunday to pull within a point of the Central Division-leading Wild.
Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended a two-game slide and won for the 13th time in their last 16. Kane's goal was his team-leading 30th and 10th in eight games.
Eric Staal scored his 22nd goal and Mikael Granlund got his 23rd for Minnesota, which has dropped three of four. Minnesota outshot Chicago 44-22 for a season high allowed by the Blackhawks.
Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk, looking for his career-high 37th win, was relieved by Darcy Kuemper less than five minutes into the game after allowing those early goals.
Dubnyk replaced Kuemper for the third period of the Wild's previous game, a 7-4 win at Florida on Friday night.
Chicago finished 3-1 against Minnesota in the regular season. The Blackhawks and Wild have met in the postseason three times — in 2013, 2014 and 2015 — and Chicago won all three series and twice went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Set up by Panarin, Kane opened the scoring just 51 seconds in from the edge of the right circle on a shot that deflected off defenseman Marco Scandella.
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Panarin made it 2-0 at 4:38 on a rising one-timer from the slot that sailed over Dubnyk's blocker. That prompted coach Bruce Boudreau to summon Kuemper.
Crawford was sharp in the second period, stopping all 20 shots he faced. Meanwhile, van Riemsdyk scored at 5:28 during a delayed penalty to increase Chicago's lead to 3-1.
Minnesota's Ryan White pulled down Jordin Tootoo along the left boards. Play continued and Marcus Kruger stepped in and fed the loose puck to van Riemsdyk, who had streaked to the edge of the crease.
NOTES: Minnesota C Martin Hanzal missed the game with an illness. Wild C Jordan Schroeder moved back in the lineup after being scratched in four straight. ... Blackhawks veteran defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya were back in the lineup and paired together after getting a night off in a 4-2 loss at Detroit on Friday. ... Minnesota D Christian Folin missed his fourth game with an upper body injury. . The game started at 11:30 a.m. and was played before a season-high United Center crowd of 22,147. ... Chicago F Tomas Jurco was a healthy scratch for the first time since being acquired from Detroit on Feb. 24. ... The Blackhawks signed 22-year-old F John Hayden, 22, one of their top prospects after he concluded his senior year at Yale.
UP NEXT:
Wild: Meet the league-leading Capitals at Washington on Tuesday in the fourth of a five-game road trip.
Blackhawks: At Montreal on Tuesday to start a three-game trip that also takes them to Ottawa and Toronto.
