Ray Emery made 20 saves to record his third shutout of the season and 14th of his career, as the Blackhawks blanked the Wild 1-0 at Xcel Energy Center. Marian Hossa scored the lone goal in the second period for Chicago, which has won three in-a-row and six of its last eight. Niklas Backstrom denied 30 of the 31 shots he faced for the Wild, who have lost four-of-five.
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and Rudy Gay added 19 as the Raptors clipped the Bulls 101-98 in Chicago. Kyle Lowry recorded 13 points and 10 assists for Toronto, which has won three of its last four games. Jimmy Butler netted a game-high 28 points for the short-handed Bulls, who were without Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson. Carlos Boozer donated 19 points, 11 boards and eight assists in the setback. Chicago is now just a half-game ahead of Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with five games to play.
