On Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn., the Chicago Fire will try to distance themselves from the bottom of the playoff standings against a Minnesota United FC side with eyes on the Supporters' Shield.

The Fire (12-11-6, 42 points) sit in the ninth and final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but enter Saturday's road trip off the back of a difficult 3-1 loss at home to New York City FC on Sept. 13.

Despite opening the scoring with a goal from Philip Zinckernagel in the 20th minute, a late first-half goal in the 40th minute by NYCFC turned into two more in the second half, in a matchup that highlighted the increased intensity of matches that continues in the playoffs. For head coach Gregg Berhalter, the young Chicago team doesn't need a lesson in intensity until it actually makes the postseas

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