The Minnesota Wild’s high-percentage shootout specialists came through again.Devin Setoguchi and Erik Christensen scored in a shootout to help the Wild beat the Blackhawks 5-4 on Sunday night for their third consecutive victory. Setoguchi had a goal and two assists in regulation, then sealed the victory in the third round of the tiebreaker with a quick wrist shot that beat Ray Emery. Setoguchi is 4 for 7 in shootouts this season, while Christensen, who connected in the first round on a backhander, is 5 for 7.Although they had to settle for one point in the loss, the Blackhawks have lost only twice in regulation in their last 16 games (11-2-3) and are steaming back into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Wild, despite the late spurt, are buried deep in the Western Conference standings and will miss the postseason for the fourth consecutive time. Still, victories matter for Minnesota.Patrick Kane had the lone Hawk goal in the shootout against Josh Harding.Dany Heatley, Kyle Brodziak and defenseman Clayton Stoner also scored for Minnesota, which won in a shootout for the second successive night. According to Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, Setoguchi was his team’s standout player from the opening faceoff. The game was physical, featuring three fights in the first 30 minutes. And the Blackhawks battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the second period to send it to overtime.Kane’s second goal in regulation, during a power play with 2:45 left in the third period, to tie it at 4. Alone in the slot, Kane converted a feed from rookie Andrew Shaw after Patrick Sharp forced Minnesota defenseman Tom Gilbert to turn over the puck.Sharp and Viktor Stalberg also scored.Although the Blackhawks dropped their final home game of the regular season, they already had clinched a playoff spot with a 5-4 victory Saturday night in Nashville and can finish no lower than sixth in the Western Conference. They finished 27-8-6 at the United Center. The Hawks have 98 points, tied with Nashville for third in the Central Division and fifth in the West. The Predators, however, have played one fewer game.The team that finishes sixth in the West will meet the third seed from the conference — this year, the winner of the Pacific Division — in the opening playoff round. The sixth seed — Blackhawks, Detroit or Nashville — is assured of finishing with a better regular-season record than winner of the Pacific. And things are looking up for the Blackhawks, who will get top defenseman Duncan Keith back after a five-game suspension for their next game, Thursday night at Minnesota.There’s also a chance that captain Jonathan Toews, who missed his 20th game with a concussion Sunday, will be back. He has been cleared to practice with contact.Harding made 31 saves through overtime, and Emery stopped 26 shots.Setoguchi opened the scoring at 10:11 of the first on a breakaway after taking Heatley’s long feed. Crawford made a pad save on Setoguchi’s first shot, but the puck trickled underneath him, and Setoguchi stopped and slammed it in.Sharp tied it 34 seconds later. He connected from the slot after taking a centering pass from defenseman Nick Leddy, who had carried the puck in all the way down right wing.Heatley’s tap-in power-play goal, capping a neat cross-ice passing play with Mikko Koivu and Setoguchi, put Minnesota ahead 2-1 just over three minutes later.Stalberg slipped past the Minnesota defense, took a feed from Brent Seabrook, cut to the net and tied it at 2 at 5:28 of the second.But Stoner pinched in and scored on a rebound of Setoguchi’s jam-in attempt 20 seconds later to put Minnesota back in front, 3-2. Then Brodziak added his 22nd goal, sweeping in a rebound while tumbling to the ice, 41 seconds later to make it 4-2. Kane cut it to 4-3 on a shot from the right circle at 8:20.

NOTES—Both Brodziak’s goal (22nd) and Stalberg’s (21st) extended career highs…..Andrew Brunette, who had been playing on the Blackhawks’ top line with Kane and Marian Hossa, missed the game because of an undisclosed (like all)injury.