The Stadium Series contest between the Wild and visiting Blackhawks is a meeting of familiar postseason foes. The two teams have met in the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, with the Blackhawks prevailing each time. They swept the Wild in a Western Conference Second Round series last season en route to a third championship in six years.
The defending champion Blackhawks appear well positioned to make a run at the Stanley Cup again in 2016, while the Wild are near the bottom of the Central Division standings and fired coach Mike Yeo in mid-February after losing 13 of 14 games.