The Wild entered Sunday night’s game in Chicago having lost five of their previous six games. Emblematic of the Wild’s recent struggles was a second-period scrum in front of the Wild net versus Calgary on Saturday night.

Yakov Trenin and Declan Chisholm are both healthy scratches tonight. Chisholm is scratched for a mental reset, Wild head coach John Hynes said. Trenin is scratched due to not bein

Being in a U.S. market where hockey is the number one sport in the state, today is another example of why it’s great to be here,” Wild coach John Hynes said.

Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes expressed his frustration regarding the referee's explanation following a controversial no-call on Connor McDavid's elbow to Marcus Johansson on Wednesday.

"We're choosing to lose," coach John Hynes said after the Wild's woes at home continued with a 5-4 loss to the Flames.

In the middle frame, Chicago’s Nick Foligno was whistled for holding Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov, and complained a bit too forcefully about the call, drawing a second penalty. Minnesota made it 3-0 on the extended power play, as Eriksson Ek recorded his ninth goal of the season and second of the weekend.

The Wild are now 3-1-1 in early starts following the Martin Luther King Jr. Day afternoon game in Colorado, a 3-1 win for Minnesota.

Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves for the Wild (28-16-4), which has lost four of its past five. Forward Kirill Kaprizov had three shots in 16:39 after missing the past 12 games with a lower-body injury.

The Wild have a hard time explaining why there’s been such a difference in home/road splits this season. They boast a .740 points percentage (tops in the NHL) on the road so far, and .500 at home (23rd in NHL). Their Corsi-For per 60 at home in five-on-five play is 54.65 (30th in the league), and 55.03 on the road (23rd).

If you seek an escape from the doldrums of January in Minnesota, the Illinois waterfront is not high on the list of tropical destinations. But for the recently-struggling Minnesota Wild, a visit to the Windy City was exactly the tonic they needed.

The Wild found relief from their rut with their most tried-and-true remedy: playing on the road. Like clockwork, they left St. Paul and immediately improved, using a strong start to hold off the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Sunday night at United Center for just their second win in the last seven games.