(SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Minnesota Wild will aim for a win against the Chicago Blackhawks when the Central Division foes meet for Thursdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild have just two wins over their last 10 games (2-4-4) and enter Thursdays action six points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota also trails second-place Chicago by 13 points in the division standings and the Wild have dropped two straight and five of the last eight meetings in this series. The clubs met for the first of five encounters in 2014-15 back on Dec. 16 in Chicago and the Blackhawks notched a 5-3 decision. The Wild, who are 10-4-5 at home this season, have won two straight and four of their last six home games versus Chicago. Minnesota lost its second straight game the last time out, dropping the opener of a three-game homestand in overtime against the San Jose Sharks. The Wild suffered the 4-3 loss while playing without star forward Zach Parise, who missed the game to be with his ailing father, former NHL player J.P. Parise, who succumbed to lung cancer Wednesday evening. He was 73. Minnesota held a 2-0 lead in Tuesdays game against the Sharks, but the Wild would need to tie the game late in regulation to send the game to OT. Jason Zucker evened the score at 3-3 with 7:48 left in the third, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic tallied the OT winner, burying a slap shot with 1:52 remaining in the extra session. Zucker notched two goals and an assist in the loss. Jared Spurgeon also scored for Minnesota and Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves to fall to 13-12-1 on the season. I thought we competed and fought well, said Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter. Of course theres some plays wed like to have back, but we stuck with them the whole game. The Blackhawks are in a minor funk, having lost two of three to begin the 2015 calendar year. Chicago dropped a 2-0 decision to visiting Colorado on Tuesday and tonight Joel Quennevilles club will try to avoid its first set of consecutive losses since falling to Toronto and Winnipeg on Nov. 1 and 2. The Blackhawks couldnt get a single puck past Semyon Varlamov on Tuesday despite firing 54 shots at the Colorado netminder. Corey Crawford, meanwhile, allowed both goals on 24 shots as he watched his team get shut out for the first time since Nov. 2 against the Jets. Colorado tallied the only offense it would need just 53 seconds into the game when the rebound of John Mitchells shot went right to Nathan MacKinnon, who wristed it over the glove of Crawford. Just 24 seconds later, Max Talbot slipped in MacKinnons pass off the rush for a 2-0 game. We just couldnt find a way to bury the puck, Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said. Chicago is opening a two-game road trip and will cap the brief swing tomorrow night in Edmonton. The Blackhawks are 12-7-1 as the visiting team this season. Its uncertain if Crawford or backup Antti Raanta will get the start in net tonight. Crawford is 5-3-2 with a 2.38 goals against average in his career versus Minnesota, while Raanta is 1-1-0 with a 2.56 GAA in this matchup. Veteran Niklas Backstrom is 6-10-1 with a 2.90 GAA in his career against Chicago and will get the start tonight. Wholesale Saints Jerseys . - Vince Carter, heading into his 17th NBA season, doesnt consider age a big issue anymore. Stitched Saints Jerseys . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. https://www.saintsjerseyssale.com/. Sijsling, ranked 74th in the world, was leading 6-0, 4-1 when his Italian opponent called it quits after just 39 minutes on court. In a match pitting together two qualifiers, Michal Przysiezny of Poland defeated local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) for only his second Tour win of the season. New Orleans Saints Shirts . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. Fake Saints Jerseys .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft.LONDON -- An exquisite equalizer from Yaya Toure sparked a second-half comeback by Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday, with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland giving Manuel Pellegrini his first trophy as manager. Returning to the stadium where Roberto Mancinis City career ended in an FA Cup final loss last May, further Wembley misery appeared to be beckoning when Fabio Borini put Premier League struggler Sunderland in front after 10 minutes. Instead, City, which has now scored 121 goals this season, remains on course for an improbable quadruple that would require all the resolve displayed in the second half to complete. After a flat first-half performance, the recovery began after Toure nonchalantly curled into the net from 30 yards (meters) in the 55th minute, with Samir Nasri volleying home Citys second inside two minutes. City fans were already celebrating just their third trophy in three years -- following a 35-year title drought -- when Jesus Navas completed a counterattack to add the third in the 90th minute. "To win the first trophy I think is important for us all ... because at an important club you must win trophies," said Pellegrini, the Chilean who spent a decade in charge of Spanish clubs without a winners medal. "In the second half we changed it and scored two beautiful goals and we had the patience to win." City is in the Premier League title hunt and has reached the FA Cup quarterfinals, but must overturn a 2-0 deficit against Barcelona to advance in the Champions League from the round-of-16 stage. "I hope it will bring confidence for us to win the other trophies," Nasri said. After more than $1.5 billion of Abu Dhabi investment in less than six years, City has now won each of the domestic trophies in three years, following the 2011 FA Cup and 2012 Premier League title produced by Mancini. But, in a showpiece game seen live in around 180 countries, City was unpicked after just 10 minutes by a team fighting relegation when slack defending allowed Sunderland to pounce. Fernandinho was dispossesssed next to the Sunderland penalty area, allowing Seb Larsson to launch a counterattack before passing to Adam Johnson on the right wing.dddddddddddd. Johnson then sent the ball high down the flank to Borini, who easily slipped beyond captain Vincent Kompany before scoring low past Costel Pantilimon. In response, there was little threat from a team which is six points off the top of the standings but with two games in hand. Sergio Aguero, back after five games out with a hamstring injury, launched himself down the right flank midway through the first half. But after crossing to Nasri, the France midfielders sight of goal was partially obscured by Lee Cattermole and it was a trouble-free save for Vito Mannone. Making amends for his earlier slackness, a well-timed tackle by Kompany cut out Borinis run on goal -- denying Sunderland a chance to double its lead before halftime. "Our first half, there was memories of Wigan," Nasri said, referring to last years FA Cup final loss. "We said that we need to stay calm, to remain focused and play our football." City did just that, and two exceptional moments swung the game in Citys favour. The curling shot from Toure looped over Mannone into the corner of the net, giving the defensive midfielder a 17th goal of the season. And before Sunderland could regroup there was an equally fine finish from Nasri. From Pantilimons quick goal kick, Aguero sent the ball to Aleksandar Kolarov, who crossed for Nasri to net with a first-time volley. "Theyve scored a great goal to get back into it, hes stuck it in the top corner from 30 yards out and then weve lost a bit of organization and its cost us a second goal," Sunderland captain John OShea said. There was no way back for Sunderland, and Fernandinho seized possession to allow City to mount a late surge forward that ended with Toure setting up Navas to beat Mannone with a close-range finish. "It wasnt to be," Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said. "But we tried ... and now we want to stay in the Premier League." ' ' '