Gamethread: Wild vs. Blackhawks (8:00 p.m.)

Just over 24 hours after the puck dropped for their first game, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks are facing each other once again in this home-and-home series.

One difference: Jared Spurgeon is back. The Wild captain is making his return from an injury that has left him off the ice since Dec. 16. Over his month-long absence, the Wild have been fairly irregular with their performances, but have steadily become more stable and still scoring a buttload of goals. Spurgeon returning will only enhance that.

In return, rookie Calen Addison has left the lineup. While it is a surprising move after his two-point performance on Friday, head coach Dean Evason mentioned that the captain and the rookie play similar roles, making it an unbalanced lineup in his own view. It kind of makes sense, but it’s difficult to see Addison on the sidelines once again when his talents were put on display so easily.

Anyways, join us in the comments down below.