The Chicago Blackhawks are at that point of the season where they are all but assured of spot in the playoffs but still have a couple of months to go in the regular season.

So to raise motivation, they look for any storyline to generate interest during a mid-February game. On Wednesday night, it was a tilt against a Minnesota Wild team that had defeated the Hawks in eight consecutive regular-season games. On Friday night in Winnipeg, they used the fact the Jets had won the previous four meetings of this season to find an edge.

"When you’re in the middle of the grind here in the middle of the season you always have to try to find a small motivation somehow to keep pushing yourself," defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said following the Hawks' morning skate Friday at the MTS Centre.

The Jets have out-scored the Hawks 14-5 in the four meetings this season.

"They’ve been playing really against us," Hjalmarsson said. "For some reason every time we’ve played them they’re definitely one of the better teams we’ve played so far. That’s why it’s strange to see them with that many points behind us in the standings. It looks like they find a way to play at their best against us.

"This is the last game (against the Jets) in the regular season," Hjalmarsson added. "It’s more of an embarrassment to go 0-5 in the regular season. We’re playing a lot for our pride (Friday night)."

Corey Crawford will be in goal for the Hawks as they look for their fourth consecutive win overall. He will be opposed by Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets (25-27-4).

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