NHL scores 2017: Blackhawks send Wild a message in Central showdown

The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t ready to cede their title as the best team in the Western Conference.

They made that clear on Sunday, confounding the Minnesota Wild in a 4-2 win that pulls them within one point of the Central Division and conference lead.

Minnesota has fought all season to make the case for their Western dominance, but the Blackhawks have come on incredibly strong in the second half of the season. For the second time in the last week, the Wild had to pull their starting goalie after a few soft goals against early. At the other end of the rink, Corey Crawford turned aside 42 saves in an impressive win.

Sure, the Wild were incomplete: Martin Hanzal sat out with an illness. That’s an excuse. But the game on Sunday reinforced that the Blackhawks aren’t going to stand aside and let the Wild run amok in the Western Conference playoffs.

Blackhawks 4, Wild 2

Canadiens 4, Oilers 1

Rangers 4, Red Wings 1

Ducks 5, Capitals 2

Sharks 5, Stars 1

1. The Capitals have hit a rough patch

You know you’ve started to slide a little when you end another team’s six-game losing streak and heat up their best player in the process.

The goal-scoring drought Corey Perry endured all season found relief against the Capitals on Sunday. Perry scored twice in the win, Anaheim’s first against the Capitals in six tries. Washington has now lost four straight.

2. New York will be fine without Henrik Lundqvist

If there’s one thing the Rangers have learned through Lundqvist’s out-of-character struggles this year, it’s that they have as good a backup as any team in the league.

With Lundqvist out for the next few weeks, the Rangers will turn to Antti Raanta to finish out the regular season home stretch. He proved again on Sunday why they’re in good hands, with 23 saves in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over Detroit.

3. Max Pacioretty is an underrated goal-scoring machine

The Canadiens captain led another third-period comeback for Montreal, scoring twice in the final frame to lift the Habs over the Oilers. His seven game-winning goals are fourth in the Eastern Conference behind Alex Ovechkin, Mike Hoffman, and Patrice Bergeron. Only Sidney Crosby owns more goals (34) this season than Pacioretty (33).

Did we mention the Caps are sliding? They got more bad news.