The set-up: The 36-18-5 Chicago Blackhawks are hoping to gain ground in the Central Division with a win on the road against the 39-13-6 Minnesota Wild, who lead the division with 84 points (Chicago has 77 points).

Chicago: The Blackhawks' 5-1 win at Buffalo on Sunday improved their record to 6-1-0 in February. Patrick Kane (the reigning Hart Trophy winner) had a goal and an assist to give him 11 points (five goals, six assists) in seven February games. Toews' goal versus the Sabres upped his point total to 15 in 11 contests.Then there is the 38-year-old Marian Hossa who tied for the team lead in goals (21) by scoring at Buffalo. He gives head coach Joel Quenneville quite a bit of flexibility with his ever-changing lines. "When you've got three lines, and (Hossa) not on your top two, it obviously shows you've got have a little depth on your team." Quenneville told the Chicago Sun-Times

Minnesota: The Wild have avoided any mid-season slumps, earning at least one point in 18 of 22 games since New Year's Day. That puts the Wild solidly in the Western Conference lead, seven points ahead of the Blackhawks with a game in hand. Minnesota is playing its seventh contest of a season-high eight-game homestand and owns a 21-7-1 record on home ice this season.

The pick: The Wild own an 8-0-1 mark versus the Blackhawks in the teams' last nine regular season meetings but Chicago is currently riding a six-game road winning streak. This game feels like a "playoff game" for the Blackhawks and note that the Blackhawks have ended Minnesota's season with a playoff series win in three of the last four campaigns (2013, 2014 and 2015). I'm taking the price and making Chicago an 8* play.