First period

Ilya Mikheyev opened the scoring with his 13th of the season to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Andrew Mangiapane stickhandled to the right faceoff circle and fired a pass to Mikheyev on the doorstep for the tap-in goal at 16:22. The Hawks took a one-goal lead after 20 minutes.

“here come the Hawks” pic.twitter.com/cLe0b8iXWG

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 20, 2026

Second period

Chicago took a 2-0 lead on Connor Bedard’s 28th goal of the season. Bedard stole the puck from Marcus Johansson in the defensive zone, skated the other way and with Johansson a half step behind, Bedard lifted a backhand past Wallstedt at 11:47.

a Bedsy beautyyyyyy pic.twitter.com/SbTb8nf4Zc

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 20, 2026

The Wild cut it to 2-1 on Nico Sturm’s fifth of the season. The Wild rushed up the ice and Hunter Haight found Sturm, who fired a shot from the right-wing boards past Knight at 15:47. The Hawks would take a one-goal lead into the room after two periods.

Third period

There was no scoring in the final frame, as the Blackhawks hung on for a 2-1 win over their Central Division rivals.

Analysis

It was a solid, scrappy and gutsy road win for the Blackhawks, who beat the Wild in regulation for the first time since 2019 and their first win in Minnesota since 2017. The Wild clearly tried to be the more physical team but the young Hawks stood toe to toe and pushed back, especially during a few scrums after the whistle. It will be a quick turnaround for the Hawks, who return home to face the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at United Center, which may feature the debut of newly signed former first-round draft choice Sacha Boisvert. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CDT on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks earn 2-1 win in Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Wild struck first in this game. Six minutes in, they won a draw in the offensive zone. Kirill Kaprizov from behind the net got it to Ryan Hartman in front, who buried his chance to make it 1-0 Minnesota. Just 1:41 later, the Wild would strike again. The puck ping-ponged around on a shot from Jonas Brodin at the point. It found a wide-open Marcus Johansson, who could not miss the gaping cage to make it 2-0. Under three minutes later, the Blackhawks would get one back. Louis Crevier skated the puck into the zone and put a slapshot on net. It beat Filip Gustavsson to make it 2-1 Wild.

slapshot
102 mph
Big Lou pic.twitter.com/mtBGeUaxjU

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026

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Unfortunately, the Wild would not be done yet. They got a power play with 3:29 remaining on an Andrew Mangiapane cross-check. On that power play opportunity, they would convert, with Vladimir Tarasenko getting the goal, 3-1 Minnesota. The period would end with the Wild on top big.

Second period

It took a while in the second for either team to get something going. The Blackhawks would be the ones to get a goal, with Crevier being involved again. He put a shot on net that could not be handled by Gustavsson. On the rebound, the puck found its way to Ryan Greene, who put the puck home to make it 3-2 Minnesota.

things that just make sense: a Greener goal on March 17th pic.twitter.com/d69fZgg3zL

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026

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The second period would end with the Blackhawks down by just one goal.

Third period

The third period had the Blackhawks dominating play for much of it. There were minutes where they kept the puck in the offensive zone and the Wild could do nothing about it. They kept up the relentless pressure until a couple of minutes remaining in the game. The Wild had a bad turnover, with Artyom Levshunov taking the puck at the Blackhawks’ blue line. He got the puck up to Connor Bedard, who went flying into the Wild zone in a 2-on-1. He found Frank Nazar in front, who buried his chance to knot things up at 3-3.

Frank called OT pic.twitter.com/ZQnC9EGnHt

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026

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That would send this game to overtime, a result that did not look like it would happen after the first period.

Overtime

After making the Wild completely gassed throughout the third period, they returned the favor in overtime. After keeping the Blackhawks on the ice for an incredibly long shift, Mats Zuccarello found himself wide open just above the circles. He buried the feed from Johansson, giving the Wild the 4-3 victory.

Analysis

This game showcased the Blackhawks’ ability to fight back in games. Coming back from two down to force overtime late is not something every team can do, and not something the Blackhawks of the last couple of years would have done either. Continuing to put pressure on like they were able to do in the third is great to see, too, as it shows that they are not backing down in close games without a fight. The fact that it is all the young guys contributing shows that this team should very much have a bright future ahead. It just takes patience and grit to get there.

The Blackhawks will be back up against these same Wild on Thursday night. That game will be at 6:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN+ and Hulu.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks force OT, but drop at home to Wild 4-3 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Teravainen wasted no time as he gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead with his 10th of the season on the first shift of the game. A shot from the point by Louis Crevier was stopped but Teravainen was there to pounce on the rebound at the 1:19 mark.

first shift back? make it a goal pic.twitter.com/DImXSG3Idt

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 28, 2026

Ryan Donato gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead with his 11th of the season with an unassisted goal at 15:14. Off a board battle in the corner, the puck rolled out in front of the net and to the right of Wallstedt thanks to a Brock Faber turnover, and Donato fired a one-timer into the back of the net.

Ryan Donato snaps an 11-game goal drought for his 11th of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/4aOfp8EZKE

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 28, 2026

The Hawks would take a two-goal lead to the locker room after one.

Second period

Ilya Mikheyev made it 3-0 with his 10th of the season. After a save by Knight and a scramble in front of the Hawks’ goal, Alex Vlasic retrieved the puck, skated out of the zone and made a nice pass to Mikheyev, who picked up speed along the boards and went in 1-on-1 with the defensemen and fired a wrist shot top shelf at the 5:54 mark.

another one, 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘒 𝘠𝘖𝘜 pic.twitter.com/UCs2HVGzbz

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 28, 2026

The Wild got on the board when Yakov Trenin scored his fourth of the season. Matt Grzelcyk attempted to keep the puck in the zone but stumbled, which created a 2-on-1 for the Wild. Trenin’ tally made it 3-1 at 12:33. The Hawks would take a two-goal lead after two periods.

Third period

Joel Eriksson Ek made it 3-2 with his 13th of the season. Quinn Hughes showed off his skating ability near the blue line and fired a puck to the net that was stopped, but Knight left a rebound for Eriksson Ek to tap in at 3:57 to make it a one-goal game.

Jared Spurgeon tied the game at 3-3 with his fifth of the season. With the net empty, the Wild put the puck on net, and with traffic in front, Spurgeon buried a rebound past Knight to tie the game at 17:58. The game would remain tied at the end of regulation.

Overtime

Despite the Hawks getting a power play that covered nearly the entire final two minutes of overtime, the game remained tied heading into a shootout.

Shootout

Mats Zuccarello opened the shootout with a backhand shot that slipped off his stick and went behind the net.

Frank Nazar followed with some nifty stickhandling moves but couldn’t finish.

Kirill Kaprizov scored by firing a wrist shot to the blocker side to give Minnesota a 1-0 advantage.

Connor Bedard skated in and after several stickhandling moves, he lost control of the puck.

Matt Boldy could not convert on the next opportunity as he was stopped in close.

Ryan Donato was the Hawks’ final hope but he was stopped by Wallstadt and the Wild get the extra point.

Analysis

The Blackhawks saw their four-game road winning streak end in disappointing fashion as they played well through the first two periods and built a 3-0 lead on the road but failed to hold on thanks to another third-period collapse. The Hawks had chances but the power play came up empty with an 0-5 night including one in overtime. On the positive side, while the Hawks did get a point, the Blackhawks may have found a new first line (for now), as head coach Jeff Blashill shuffled the lines and put Teravainen and Nazar with Bedard, and that line was tremendous, as they generated 14 shots on goal. The Hawks’ mini road trip concludes on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 WGN.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks waste three-goal lead in 4-3 shootout loss in Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

Jason Dickinson and Connor Bedard got the Blackhawks on the scoreboard in the second period to make the lead 2-0 with just under nine minutes to play in the middle period. Dickinson’s second goal of the season, unassisted, beat Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson after the Wild lost the puck in their own zone and Dickinson found himself in front to bury home a five-hole tally.

Jason Dickinson – Chicago Blackhawks (2) pic.twitter.com/NKhDoFQ4zR

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Bedard would extend the lead to 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play with defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Tyler Bertuzzi.

Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks (14) pic.twitter.com/BApguvMjjl

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber would score with less than a minute to play in the second period, beating Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight.

After the start of the third period, Chicago could not hold off the Wild, as they seemed to take all advantage of the momentum in the building after the disallowed goal. Minnesota scored to tie the game at 2-2 when forward Nico Sturm scored his first goal of the season.

Chicago defenseman Artyom Levshunov buried home his first goal of his career off a nifty pass by Bedard.

Artyom Levshunov – Chicago Blackhawks (1) pic.twitter.com/oT1GL20TFD

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Chicago took the 3-2 lead and were outshooting the visiting Wild 31-14 at the time.

The Wild would tie the game at the midway point of the final period when forward Matthew Boldy scored his 14th goal of the season.

In overtime, Chicago forward Ilya Mikheyev was called for a questionable interference penalty, which led to the Wild’s game-winning goal at the 1:43 mark of overtime. Kirill Kaprizov beat Knight for his 14th goal of the season, sending the young Blackhawks home with only a point in a game that seemed to be in hand after what appeared to be a three-goal lead.

Matt Boldy – Minnesota Wild (14) pic.twitter.com/drUShHUhYC

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

The Blackhawks are back on home ice against the Nashville Predators for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop on Friday, when the team will debut the return of the black alternate jerseys.

Analysis

Chicago looked to have the comfortable lead, but the more veteran Wild came storming back to win a game in which Minnesota was clearly not the better team on the ice for most of the game. This is the type of game that Chicago will eventually turn the tides and overcome bad calls.

Bedard continues to be a threat any time he is on the ice. His play in the neutral and offensive zones have been second-to-none of this team and most in the NHL. Anyone complaining about his offensive game is looking for things to complain about.

The post RECAP: Chicago falls to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on home ice appeared first on The Rink.

First period

This game started off looking like one team showed up to play, and the other team looked like they had played five games in a row to get to this one. Minnesota dominated the first period, getting their first goal of the game fairly early on. Ethan Del Mastro tried to get the puck up the side boards from the point, but it got intercepted by Marco Rossi. Then, that sprang the Wild on a 4-on-2, with Jared Spurgeon putting the puck past Mrazek, 1–0 Wild.

Then, a few minutes later, the Blackhawks would give up a goal that everyone would have liked to have back. Frederick Gaudreau put the puck on net from a bad angle that fooled Mrazek and got by him, 2–0 Minnesota. This first period would end with a grand total of one shot recorded on net by the Blackhawks.

Second period

It was more of the same from the Blackhawks in the second, only generating four shots on net this time around, but having to fight back from an even bigger deficit. The Wild picked up another goal on the power play, with Joel Eriksson Ek getting the tip in front to get it past Mrazek. The period would end with Minnesota up 3–0.

Third period

Something must have rattled the Blackhawks’ cages in the intermission, because they came out seeming like they actually wanted to play in the third. Right away in the period, Jake Middleton got called for a cross-check on Ryan Donato, putting the Blackhawks on the power play. They made quick work of that, with Seth Jones putting the puck to the back of the net. A few minutes later, Del Mastro flew toward the net. He put the puck off of Filip Gustavsson’s pad, giving up a juicy rebound. Frank Nazar flew in to clean it up, making it 3–2 Wild.

simply *chef’s kiss* pic.twitter.com/m3ofzNQRbS

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 27, 2025

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The Blackhawks would continue to fight back to try to get back even with the Wild, but could not quite get there. The Wild would tack on an empty-netter, giving them the 4–2 victory.

Analysis

This game was a tale of two games if there has ever been one. The first and second periods were, without a doubt, the worst periods that the Blackhawks have played offensively this entire season. Five shots on goal through two periods is bush league crap, as no professional hockey team should only be able to generate five measly shots on net in 40 minutes. They looked like the computer when you play against them in an NHL video game on rookie mode, they were that bad at generating anything. The third period was like it was from a totally different planet. The Blackhawks came out with a fire in them in the third; they looked like a totally different team that actually wanted to try to win a hockey game.

If there is more of that kind of play the rest of the season, this team will surprise some people and win some more games that on paper they should not be winning. If this team looks like the team through the first two periods, they will continue their current woes of losing seven of the last eight games they have played.

Connor Bedard doesn’t back down against Zach Bogosian. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ycnhhHTTCX

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 27, 2025

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The Blackhawks’ next game is on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning again. That game will be on CHSN at 6 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks beat down by Wild, drop third straight 4–2 appeared first on The Rink.

The lines for the contest were as follows:

Blackhawks lines in warmups are as expected:

Hall-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Foligno-Nazar-Donato
Teravainen-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Maroon-Reichel-Anderson

Vlasic-Murphy
Allan-Jones
Korchinski-Brodie

Soderblom

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) December 24, 2024

Seth Jones got his second start since returning from injury and Arvid Soderblom got the call in net.

First period

In the first period, the Wild’s Brock Faber looked to have scored the game’s first goal. Upon review, the goal was overturned due to goalie interference.

Anders Sorensen wins his first challenge as an NHL head coach after Minnesota’s goal is overturned for goaltender interference. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/jDTVQnRysE

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 24, 2024

The game’s actual first goal was scored by Connor Bedard. Bedard scored an “oopsie” goal to begin the game for the Hawks.

Connor Bedard wins the faceoff then scores his 9th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/QDk0riyGrK

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 24, 2024

Later in the first, Kirill Kaprizov potted his 23rd goal of the season to tie the game at 1–1.

The first period ended tied at 1–1.

Second period

Nick Foligno helped the Hawks regain the lead with a rebound goal. Foligno followed Frank Nazar’s shot on Filip Gustavsson for the goal.

Nick Foligno follows up Frank Nazar’s shot and scores his 8th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/55bQUaLlzM

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 24, 2024

The assist was Nazar’s first point of this NHL season and second of his young NHL career.  Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon scored the equalizer a minute later.

The second period ended with the scored tied at 2–2.

Third period

Faber scored the Wild’s third goal of the game to give Minnesota the lead. With the margin only one goal, Teuvo Teravainen missed a crucial opportunity to level the score on a largely open net. The Teravainen shot could have changed the trajectory of the game had it found the net.

The Wild’s Marcus Foligno added an empty-netter late to extend their lead.

The Hawks tried to come back with a late goal from Jason Dickinson, but it ultimately proved too little, too late.

This was the Jason Dickinson goal late in the game to bring the #Blackhawks within 1.

However, our Hawks still fall 4-3 in Minnesota to the Wild.pic.twitter.com/TkXgE2b6qt

— Just Another Year Chicago: Blackhawks (@JAYChi_Hawks) December 24, 2024

The Hawks fell to the Wild 4–3. Chicago has now lost 14 of 15 to Minnesota and eight in a row.

Analysis

Despite the loss, the Hawks continue to improve under Anders Sorensen. On offense, the Hawks scored three goals for the fifth time in nine games. Since taking over, Chicago have averaged three goals per game. While that is still below league average of 3.03 goals per game, it is still an improvement.

Connor Bedard

Bedard’s offensive production has improved since Sorensen arrived in Chicago. He scored his second goal in two games. Since the coaching change, Bedard has three goals and seven assists. If this offensive trend continues, the Hawks figure to be in more games this season. Bedard joined elite Blackhawks company, as he has tied Patrick Kane with the third-most regular-season points by a teenager for the Blackhawks. Despite the accolades and records being broken, fans are still demanding more of the young forward.

Frank Nazar

Nazar got his first assist of the season in the loss to Minnesota. While Nazar has been playing solid defensively, the Hawks were hoping for more offensively. While nobody hoped for this slow start, there is no reason to panic. With younger players there should be an adjustment period from the AHL to NHL. Hopefully the point against Minnesota will get Nazar started on offense.

Seth Jones

Jones skated his second game since returning from an lower-body injury. Jones’ return should have been a boost to the defensive unit and instead it has been costly. The Hawks are playing worse on defense with Jones as opposed to without him.

Blackhawks fans rejoice; their next game is on ESPN2, so the majority of people in Chicago can watch it. The Hawks’ next game is Friday against the Buffalo Sabres at 6 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall short against Wild 4–3 appeared first on The Rink.

The Hawks had finally broken through offensively and were hoping to build upon that production.

1st period

In the first period, the Hawks got out to the early lead. Ryan Donato potted his ninth goal of the season.

Ryan Donato scores his ninth goal of the season — eighth on the road. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/LOFVWSdY8n

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 29, 2024

The Hawks finished the first period up 1–0. The Wild did outshoot the Blackhawks 8–4 in the period.

2nd period

Early in the second period, Donato scored the power-play for his tenth goal of the season.

Ryan Donato scores on the power play for his second of the game and 10th of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/bh5vdOXsKu

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 29, 2024

With the Blackhawks up 2–0 in the second, the Wild responded in a big way. The Wild fired two goals past Petr Mrazek in 17 seconds. Marco Rossi scored his seventh of the season for Minnesota’s first goal. Jared Spurgeon then ended his goal drought with his first goal of the season.

Later in the period, Mrazek had a rare miscue that led to the second Spurgeon goal of the period. This goal turned out to be the game-winner.

3rd period

The Hawks tried to come back in the third period with Donato failing to score on a great chance. After some very questionable calls, the Hawks fell to the Wild 3–2.

Analysis

Despite losing this game, there were some positives for the Hawks. Connor Bedard appears to be feeling more confident since breaking his goal-less streak against Dallas. He recorded one assist and was very noticeable on offense. He is still the best offensive producer on the Blackhawks.

Donato continues his impressive season recording two goals for his ninth and tenth goals of the season. Last season with the Hawks, he had 12 goals and 18 assists and is on pace to eclipse to goal mark. Donato’s hot start and expiring contract could make him an attractive trade chip at the deadline.

On the goalie front, Mrazek who has been very good for the Hawks, had a bad second period that ultimately cost them the game. Despite botching this game, the tandem of Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom are keeping the Hawks in the majority of their games.

In other Hawks news, Laurent Brossoit will be out another six weeks after requiring a second surgery to fix his knee. Soderblom will not be waiver-exempt by the team Brossoit is ready to return so expect a goalie logjam on the Hawks in the future.

The Hawks next game is Sunday, December 1st against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the United Center. For those of who can watch the game, it will be on CHSN at 3:00pm CDT.

The post Chicago Blackhawks fall to The Minnesota Wild 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Blackhawks took a 1–0 lead on Jason Dickinson’s second of the season. Teuvo Teravainen forced a turnover and Dickinson gathered the puck from the half boards and skated into the slot, made a move on Brock Faber, who went down on one knee, and Dickinson kept skating and snapped a shot past Gustavsson high and to the blocker side at 16:44.

GO OFF JASON pic.twitter.com/bON21QOOWM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 11, 2024

The Hawks took the one-goal lead into the locker room after one.

Second period

A scoreless and relatively uneventful middle period meant the Hawks maintained a 1–0 lead. The Hawks had a 15–14 advantage in shots on goal through 40 minutes.

Third period

Minnesota put up a strong effort in the third and finally broke through at the 15:29 mark. Matt Boldy scored his ninth of the season when a point shot hit traffic in front and Kaprizov took the rebound and fed Boldy in the slot, who snapped it past Mrazek to tie it at 1–1. Sixty minutes was not enough as the Hawks and Wild went to overtime.

Overtime

Taylor Hall forced a defensive zone turnover and Seth Jones collected the puck and sent Philipp Kurashev streaking up on the right wing, who fired a shot past Gustavsson to give the Hawks a 2–1 win at 1:50 of the extra frame. For Kurashev, it was his third of the season.

PHILIPP KURASHEV OT HERO pic.twitter.com/rOyPihtoJ6

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 11, 2024

Analysis

Mrazek was the story, as he made 32 saves, including 18 in the third period when the Wild tilted the ice in their favor. Minnesota outshot the Hawks 19–4 in the third, but the Hawks hung on in overtime to get the win. The Hawks will get a few days off before a brief two-game road trip beginning on Thursday night in Seattle. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 WGN.

The post RECAP: Kurashev’s overtime winner helps Blackhawks down Wild 2–1 appeared first on The Rink.

Takeaways

— MacKinnon went into tonight with 133 points so far this season, six points shy of Peter Stastny’s record of 139. The Canadian had four games to tie or break the record… tonight MacKinnon made sure that he will probably pass it. He racked up four points with a hat trick and an assist. It was his seventh career hat trick, trailing only Stastny (16), Joe Sakic (15), and Michel Goulet (13). The second goal of the night was MacKinnon’s 50th goal, which is the first time that he reached the mark in his career.

MacKinnon reads the play perfectly and is now one goal away from his first 50 goal season in his career #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/5C7iOzbCyc

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 10, 2024

MACKINNON NOW HAS SCORED 50 GOALS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS CAREER! #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/kC0Ic9xQAi

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 10, 2024

MACKINNON HATTIE ALERT!!!!!!!! #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/fC7d11LSiz

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 10, 2024

— Cale Makar continues to be more than just a great defenseman. Makar has exceeded his points from the 2021-22 year (86). The young defenseman now has 87 points in 74 games played for the Avalanche this season. With the goal scored in the second period, Makar is the first blue liner for the Avalanche to have two 20-goal seasons.

Cale Makar with a twisted wrister to get the lead back for the Avs and now has 87 pts…..as a defenseman! #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/4A0gzBFRRx

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 10, 2024

— Alexandar Georgiev continues to puzzle me with some of his decisions. The first goal by the Wild, Georgiev, was pushing the puck into traffic rather than covering it for a stoppage. I have never played goalie (it is the only position I haven’t), but he had it right on his stick and could have fallen on it. These types of decisions are the ones that worry me this late in the season.

Another day another Kirill goal #mnwild pic.twitter.com/aA5Tsktteb

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 10, 2024

Conclusion

I understand the Wild are not much of a playoff team, but the performance from Colorado tonight is what we expect. Players had their heads up for the passes and they were rushing out of the zone for the breakout. This made it a lot easier for Colorado to exit their own zone and get through the neutral zone. If they can perform like this against Winnipeg on Saturday, they should have no issues. The Avalanche could take a four point lead over the Jets and trail the Stars by only three points.

The post Both MacKinnon and Makar have milestone nights against Wild appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The game was scoreless after one with the Wild outshooting the Hawks 13–5 in what was a fairly uneventful opening frame.

Second period

The Wild needed just 66 seconds to scratch the scoresheet. With the Wild on the power play, Kirill Kaprizov scored his 40th of the season. Matthew Boldy made a cross-ice pass to Kaprizov, who was alone on the left face-off dot and fired the puck past Soderblom to give Minnesota a 1–0 lead.

The Wild took a 2–0 lead on Marco Rossi’s 21st of the season. Kaprizov won a board battle and fed Mats Zuccarello, who found a wide-open Rossi to the left of Soderblom. Rossi tapped it in a nearly wide-open cage at the 12:30 mark.

With 1:32 left, the Wild took a 3–0 on Freddy Gaudreau’s fifth of the season. Zach Bogosian retrieved the puck on the half boards and dished it to Gaudreau at the point, who fired one past Soderblom. The Wild took a three-goal lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Third period

Kaprizov scored his second of the game and 41st of the season to give the Wild a 4–0 advantage. Faber skated in and made a drop pass to Kaprizov, who was left wide open in the slot, and he sniped one past Soderblom at 8:10. Wallstedt picked up a 24-save shutout for his first career win.

Analysis

Coming off a big win at home over the Dallas Stars, a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, the Hawks returned to the ice 24 hours later with a major letdown against a mediocre Wild team. The Hawks generated very few high-danger chances and had multiple defensive lapses, with a few leading to goals. The Hawks return to the ice on Wednesday night in Missouri against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CST on NBCSCH+ with the radio call on WGN 720 AM.

The post RECAP: Wild blank Blackhawks 4–0 as Wallstedt earns first career win appeared first on The Rink.

Takeaways

— Jonathan Drouin has become one player that the Avalanche can depend on. With his two goals tonight, both assisted by his pal Nathan MacKinnon, were key in the game. In both goals, Drouin went down low and got dirty in the crease. With the second goal, Drouin positioned himself for a perfect tip in from a MacKinnon slap shot. Drouin can do the dirty dangles or the dirty work down low, he will be worth an extension next season.

Cale Makar slings one towards the net on the PP and Drouin waits for it to drop and bats the puck in for the goal number two for the Avs. MacKinnon w the secondary assist #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/KLekFCp86L

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 5, 2024

MacKinnon with a one-timer that Drouin tips in for his second goal of the night! Toews w the secondary assist Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/5u6GbrqHar

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 5, 2024

— Justus Annunen played well, winning his seventh of the season. The first goal by the Wild that came in the first period and from behind the net caught him off guard. Beyond that, his mobility and vision were excellent. Annunen was seeing high danger situations that he had not seen in games like against Chicago, where he had two consecutive shutouts. This was the best I had seen him move post-to-post since before his injury with the Eagles earlier in the season that kept him out for six weeks. Annunen’s .957 save percentage kept the Avalanche in the game.

Nathan MacKinnon converts the beautiful give-and-go with Drouin, doubling the Colorado lead to 2!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/I7XU4KMmlI

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 5, 2024

— The line of Drouin, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen has become a thing in Colorado. The trio has been together for 44 games during the season. It was a line that I had talked about even before training camp started. They have scored 29 goals together in 574 scoring chances while on the ice. So on average they have created over 13 scoring chances per game by themselves. And of all the scoring chances, 110 of them were high danger chances. This line is dangerous.

Already, we are looking at a line of Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen. This one could be scary if Drouin can do his thing. #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/IVrIe6Kvr0

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) September 8, 2023

Conclusion

The Avalanche will need to keep themselves out of the penalty box as they head to Edmonton tomorrow night. The Oliers have the second best power play in the league with a 27 percent success rate. Colorado had four penalties in the second period alone tonight, surprisingly allowing one goal. The Avalanche will have to keep up the aggressive offense against a faltering Edmonton defense and keep them on their heels. The Central Division playoff race is all but set, with the Avalanche only three points out of first behind the Dallas Stars.

The post Drouin assures win for Avalanche appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Jeff Osborn, Eric Andrews, and Sean Fitzgerald discuss the Chicago Blackhawks’ latest happenings:

The Calder “race”. More Bedard/Faber chatter.

The end of the Blackhawks season is fast approaching.

Draft lottery implications of recent wins.

Landon Slaggert has arrived.

Jason Dickinson’s fine season.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Watch the entire replay of the X right here:

#Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 7, Episode 16 – No points for second place…from the bottom https://t.co/5DAoEPhPPN

— Hockey Rinkcast Channel (@TheRinkcast) March 28, 2024

Subscribe, rate this episode, share it with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 7, Episode 16 – No points for second place…from the bottom appeared first on The Rink.

Yet, if you are a fan in the great state of hockey, Minnesota, or in the Windy City of Chicago, the race for the Calder Trophy, the league’s top rookie, has become a hotly contested debate between Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard.

Now, if you are not a frequent flyer on X, the artist formerly known as Twitter, I dare you to take a peek after putting the words, “Bedard” and “Faber” into the search field. The arguments between Chicago and Minnesota fans as to why “my guy deserves it” began with validation and now are approaching the comical. Hey, I love the passion of both fan bases, but it is getting to the point where either fan base is attempting to discredit the other player to enhance an argument. The reality is, there are 16 regular season games to play, both of these rookies are absolutely outstanding and either one has “earned” or “deserved” (whichever term you prefer) taking home the Calder Trophy in a typical year for the award.

What makes it difficult to decipher between the two candidates is it truly is an apples-to-oranges argument. Faber, a puck-moving defenseman, logs minutes versus top-line opponents and is an asset to his team. Bedard, an 18-year-old phenom leading a team with a brutal roster in scoring at near a point-per-game pace, is also eye-popping. 

Brock Faber currently leads all NHL rookies with 32 assists. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Hockey Magazine)

The plus/minus take 

The main point of contention that keeps coming to the forefront between fan bases is an antiquated statistic that will likely have zero bearing on the eventual Calder result, and that is plus/minus. I will preface this by saying that I actually am a believer in plus/minus as a statistic…for defensemen. For a defenseman to be in the plus, as Faber currently is with a +6 rating, it means he is doing his job and doing it at an above-average rate, by definition. It can be a testament and is for him. That said, plus/minus, particularly if you are a forward and not a defenseman or third-line center, is often misleading and completely dependent on the players and team around you. If it was a telling and valuable stat for forwards, then there would be quite the buzz about rookie plus/minus leaders Connor Zary (+17) and Ridley Greig (+16), both centers playing for the lowly Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators, respectively. Both have had very solid rookie campaigns, but you do not hear a lot about them, and they certainly will not be Calder candidates. So, those who are out there suggesting that Connor Bedard’s -36 versus Brock Faber’s +6 (currently eighth amongst Calder eligible rookies) will be a factor need to look elsewhere. Plus/minus is not even something that is considered for the Norris Trophy to the league’s best defenseman. If it was, Boston Bruins rearguard Hampus Lindholm would have ran away with the award in 2023, and he was not even a finalist. Erik Karlsson won the award with 101 points at a -26. There is zero precedent for plus/minus being an indicator for an end-of-the-year award. And again, this is not to say that Faber’s plus/minus is not a good thing; it just is not an argument that will win him the hardware over Bedard. Fair or not, that is how it goes.

In individual vacuums, there are no real arguments against Faber or Bedard, for that matter. People should stop seeking the notion of “this is why this player should not win the Calder.” It is a zero-sum game. Ultimately, there are only reasons for why one will win the award over the other. 

The argument for Faber 

Faber is a horse. As a young defenseman, he is a budding star. He is a great skater, stays D-side of the puck and can play on either special teams unit. His 25-plus minutes of ice time per game is astonishing for a 21-year-old rookie defenseman, and it has been admirable how much of an asset he has been considering the injuries to the Wild blue line. Faber is currently leading NHL rookies with 32 assists (Bedard is second with 31) and has six goals to boot. As of this moment, the Wild are on life support in the Western Conference playoff race, six points out of a playoff spot with one more game played. It is not completely unrealistic for them to get in, but at least one of the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators or Vegas Golden Knights will have to take a significant tumble, and that is hard to imagine. With this in mind, should the Wild make the postseason, Faber will likely be a major reason why, and simply stated because he will have to be brilliant over the next 16 games for this to become a reality. While the Wild have talent on their roster, they are relying very heavily, perhaps too heavily, on a young defenseman for important minutes. Many knew that Faber was a compelling NHL prospect, but few believed that the former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher would be this valuable early on. 

The argument for Bedard

When Bedard was sidelined in January with a broken jaw, it originally seemed that he was eliminated from Calder contention. Despite being the youngest ever NHL All-Star, being sidelined for six weeks seemed too long. Now, he is back and on an absolute tear. Just this week, he has tallied eight points over two games, both of which the Hawks have won, which is a rarity this season. Before the season began, the big debate, or DraftKings bet, if you will, was whether or not Bedard could tally 70 points in his first season. Currently with a rookie-leading 51 points (in just 52 games), he is 19 points away from that mark with 16 games to go. The idea that Bedard can come near to 70 points and be a point-per-game player after missing 14 games, while playing on this Blackhawks roster, is astonishing. Currently, he is on the scoresheet for 51 of the team’s 144 goals (35%) and the Hawks have the lowest goals-per-game average (2.18) in the league. His game continues to improve and he is wise beyond his years. Chicago’s schedule before the end of the month is somewhat favorable, with five of their next eight games against teams out of the playoff picture. So, there is a good chance Bedard will stay hot heading into April. Despite those who want to discredit him, he is a generational talent, and what he is doing as an 18-year-old is nothing short of remarkable. 

Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard is nearing a point-per-game pace and earlier this week has tallied eight points in two games. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

How Faber wins

If the Wild can stay in the playoff picture, the better Faber’s chances are, and as aforementioned, he will need to be a huge contributor down the stretch for them. Should the Wild somehow make it into the postseason and Faber reaches 50 points, then his Calder argument increases significantly and rightly so. Perhaps it is somewhat unfair that his Calder chances are tied to his team success, as is not the case with Bedard, but given his role on the team and what he brings to the table, that may be the reality of it.   

How Bedard wins

If Bedard hits 70 points, this could be a done deal regardless of Faber and the outcome of the Wild’s season. For a teenager to be a point-per-game player on a team that has the lowest goals-per-game ratio to date is insanity. It is likely that he will lead all rookies in goals, assists and points and will do it without the supporting staff (namely Taylor Hall and Corey Perry) that Chicago once thought would help him out. He does have the name and the marketability, that is for sure, but nobody can ignore the impact this young man has had for Chicago and for the league. 

Sixteen games to go

If you are a Blackhawks fan, this is a no brainer. If you are a Wild fan, same thing. And yes, I am a Hawks fan and I am partial, but there are games to play and those tilts will be meaningful for this award. Regardless of who takes home the hardware, all should agree that both are “deserving.” There are no arguments against either talent, whose NHL futures shine bright. Keep in mind that the Wild and the Hawks square off on April 7 in what their respective fan bases will deem much more important than it probably is. Regardless, congrats to both of these stellar rookies and it will be fun to see how this finishes.

The post Calder Trophy Analysis: Two-horse race — Bedard vs. Faber  appeared first on The Rink.

Welcome back, Big Val!

Valeri Nichushkin scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT Winner for the Avalanche. pic.twitter.com/6iqzCHiuSV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 9, 2024

Takeaways

— Penalty kill unit two looked strong with adding Yakov Trenin and Valerie Nichushkin back. There were a lot of penalties during the game. The Avalanche either had opportunities or had to hold strong and defend. No power play goals tonight, but the penalty killers defended keeping the Wild scoreless too.

— Nichushkin was back. He will settle back into his full strength the more games he plays, but his presence on the second line seemed to give the team strength. He and the four other new players, picked up before the trade deadline, contributed.

How big is Val Nichushkin’s impact on the Avs.

Well there’s your answer. He wins it in his first game back.

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) March 9, 2024

— Casey Mittelstadt at second line center was noticeable. Sean Walker was strong in defense and he, too, made his presence felt. Brandon Duhaime and Trenin kept up with the Avalanche speed and showed the skills that had them added to the team.

— The Avalanche looked to start the game strong, but were outshot in the second period eleven to seven. During several games this season, they then out shot their opponents during the third period. Tonight was no different.

— Alexandar Georgiev stood strong when it was most needed. He came up strong with phenomenal saves, including a penalty shot.

Another multi-point night for Nathan MacKinnon! pic.twitter.com/bxvHrKjc4r

— NHL (@NHL) March 9, 2024

Val's 2nd career OT goal

MacKinnon (2 assists) matches career high with 111 points for the season and extends overall point streak to 12 contests

Rantanen picks up assist for 9th consecutive game, a new career-long assist streak

Georgiev 33rd win tied for @NHL lead https://t.co/235kSAMgKc

— Brendan McNicholas (@bmcnich) March 9, 2024

Summary

The game was hard fought with the Avalanches lines shaken up and the Wild’s back up goalie, who had a three point goal against average, in net. The Avalanche’s new team members proved their worth in strengthening this already formidable team. Mark Rycroft commented during the third period that the Avalanche needed to “play sticky, greasy hockey” and they did.

The upcoming road trip will allow the lines to gel and find chemistry. Then Coach Jared Bednar with have the job of deciding which lines will work best together. Colorado Avalanche play the Calgary Flames on Tuesday in Calgary, the first of four upcoming games on the road.

The post Nichushkin nets the game winner against the Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Earlier in the day, Colorado announced they had signed their 2023 sixth round pick Jeremy Hanzel to an entry-level contract. He was a standout at the prospect camp and training camp for the Avalanche.

Trade one

Moments after Colorado signed the budding prospect of Jeremy Hanzel, they announced a trade. Rapid fire seems to be the order of the day for General Manager Chris MacFarland of the Avalanche. Colorado sent their 2026 third-round pick to the Minnesota Wild for forward Brandon Duhaime. The veteran has been part of the Wild for the past three years, where he established himself as a valuable asset on the penalty killing team. He will also bring a physical force back to Colorado after the trade of Kurtis MacDermid to New Jersey on Friday. Fans can expect him to play on the third and fourth lines. Duhaime will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so consider this his tryout for Colorado.

Courtesy of JFresh Hockey

Trade two

Less than two hours after Hanzel joined the Colorado Avalanche, they traded him away to the Nashville Predators. Colorado would send their 2025 third-round pick and Hanzel to Nashville for forward Yakov Trenin and the signing rights of defenseman Graham Sward. Trenin has spent a lot of time at wing and is an excellent penalty killer. He may chip in a little offensively but will spend most of the time on the fourth line. Sward has great positioning and can use the stretch pass effectively. Trenin will also be an unrestricted free agent this summer. If the Avalanche can sign Sward, he will probably go to the AHL Colorado Eagles to start.

Courtesy of JFresh Hockey

Trade

To #GoAvsGo
Yakov Trenin – $1.7M-UFA
Graham Sward, unsigned, '22 5th

To #Smashville
'25 3rd
Jeremy Hanzel, signed ELC today, '23 6thhttps://t.co/8jordTok6I

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 7, 2024

Conclusion

The Avalanche are gearing up for a heavy playoff run. They added size and hopefully some depth with Sword. The cost has been high with future draft picks out of the system now, but there is the price of a Stanley Cup. Colorado has shown they can utilize the undrafted college free agent market with Sam Malinski, Jason Polin and Ondej Pavel. They will have to do it some more in the future. But the Avalanche have become a deep and heavy team ready for a playoff run, with room to add more later today or tomorrow.

The post Avalanche make multiple moves before deadline appeared first on The Rink.

First period

TNT seemingly hates the Blackhawks, because this game started a little before 9 p.m. CST. In the first period, the Blackhawks mustered a pathetic offensive performance. The team decided to go to sleep early, as they only mustered one shot on goal in the entire period and it was a 100-foot chip from Nick Foligno. While the Hawks only got one shot on goal, the Wild mustered 11 shots. Jake Lucchini got the Wild on the board in the first period. He blasted a shot from the point that ricocheted off both posts and initially was not ruled a goal. After play continued for a bit, the horn sounded and video officials ruled that Lucchini’s shot was a good goal. At the end of the first period, the Hawks trailed 1–0.

Second period

In the second period, the Blackhawks got some juice from Jarred Tinordi fighting Marcus Foligno. After the Tinordi fight, the Hawks got their only goal of the game.

Philipp Kurashev finds Nick Foligno, who scores his 10th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ENBULmRJBP

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 8, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

In the battle of Foligno brothers, Nick got the equalizer in the second period to tie the game. The second period ended with the score knotted at 1–1.

Third period

In the third period, Marcus Foligno sealed the victory for the Wild with his ninth goal of the season. Marcus’s goal sent the Blackhawks to their fifth straight loss.

Analysis

It is the same old story with the Blackhawks. Great things are happening off the ice, and when you get to the actual game, it is disappointing. While prospects for the organization are having great collegiate and junior seasons, the NHL team now has a winning percentage of .300. Foligno stated after the game this team is starving for goals. The team and the fans are dying for Bedard to return.

In the last 11 games, the Blackhawks have scored just 11 goals. When a team scores two goals or more against the Hawks, the Hawks do not have the firepower to respond. Despite all of these shortcomings, the team continues to play hard and keep games close.

The Blackhawks’ next game is against the New York Rangers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks stumble out of the gate against Wild, fall 2–1 appeared first on The Rink.

With two additions, there had two subtractions from the lineup. Anthony Beauvillier made his Blackhawks debut on Saturday but does not have his work visa issued sorted out yet. He is rumored to be joining the Blackhawks on Tuesday or Wednesday in the States. The other subtraction was Lukas Reichel. Reichel was healthy scratched for the first time this season. Head Coach Luke Richardson said that “they need more from Reichel,” which is tough to dispute given Reichel’s largely invisible season thus far.

Here was the lineup:

Blackhawks lines in warmups vs. Wild:

Foligno-Bedard-Kurashev
TJohnson-Guttman-Raddysh
Entwistle-Dickinson-Anderson
Katchouk-Donato-RJohnson

Korchinski-Jones
Tinordi-Murphy
Vlasic-Crevier

Mrazek

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) December 3, 2023

First period

In the first period, the Hawks continued their tradition of getting down early in the game. Marco Rossi scored his first goal of the period with just under two minutes gone by. The Hawks did muster an offensive push with their lone power play chance of the frame thanks to a couple of face-off wins and slick puck movement. Taylor Raddysh had several A+ chances that were turned aside by Marc-Andre Fleury.

Just past the midway point of the period, Rossi struck again with his second goal of the game. The Wild executed a beautiful passing play to get Rossi the puck in a primetime area for the goal.

Late in the period, Mats Zuccarello scored the third Wild goal of the period, as Kirill Kaprizov dished a perfect cross-ice pass to a wide-open Zuccarello for the tally.

After the first period, the Hawks trailed 3–0, and it could have been much worse.

Second period

Petr Mrazek faced two high-danger chances from Matthew Boldy and Kaprizov to start the period. The Hawks did get some offense generated with the fourth line of Guttman, Raddysh and Boris Katchouk. Katchouk has been very noticeable as of late for the Blackhawks.

Mrazek had to make another great glove save after a Kevin Korchinski turnover in his own zone. Boldy got his revenge against Mrazek as he cashed in a power play goal to make the score 4–0 Wild.

Third period

In the third period, the Hawks finally got on the score board, as Raddysh scored on the power play. He was assisted by Connor Bedard and Tyler Johnson. With the assist, Bedard extended his road point streak to nine games. This was the lone bright for the Hawks today as they fell 4–1 to the Wild.

Analysis

The book is out on the Blackhawks. They get down early and are susceptible to the backdoor pass on defense. On offense, the lone threat to score is Bedard. That’s it. There is no one else that opposing teams need to fear on offense.

That is why the Blackhawks’ coaching staff sent a message to Reichel and all of their younger players with the healthy scratch. At this current stage of the rebuild, wins and losses are not critically important but development and production are crucial. Reichel had not been producing, so he was sat down for this game. After a stretch of play last year at the NHL level, the organization believed Reichel was ready for an NHL role. This season, Reichel was being counted on as budding offensive player. Instead, he had been invisible on the ice for long stretches of time.

Reichel was the third player to be delivered a message directly. Before the last game, Kaiser and Isaak Phillips were struggling mightily, so they were sent down. The coaching staff and front office have given these young players a long runway and now they are expecting results.

As for this game, it  as a poorly executed excuse for a hockey game. The Hawks were outmatched and outclassed by the Wild for the vast majority of the 60 minutes.

The Hawks need to do some soul searching on how they want the rest of the season to go because poor play is going to hurt development and keep this rebuild stuck in neutral.

Chicago returns to action on Tuesday, hosting the Nashville Predators for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post RECAP: Minnesota runs wild, dominates Blackhawks 4–1 appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks entered the game with a lineup that might have been a preview of the opening night roster.

last preseason game at home pic.twitter.com/S7AH997m8y

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 5, 2023

Minnesota countered with lineup filled with NHL regulars featuring two former Hawk in goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and forward Ryan Hartman.

Before the game, the Blackhawks honored Chicago Bears great Dick Butkus, who passed away earlier in the day.

Rest in Peace to a Chicago Legend pic.twitter.com/uN74A7gDqU

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 6, 2023

On the ice early in the first period, the Minnesota Wild drew first blood with a goal from Marcus Foligno. Foligno deflected a shot past Arvid Soderblom.

Later in the first, Connor Bedard drew a penalty on Patrick Maroon to give the Blackhawks their first power play opportunity of the game. After the first power play unit with Bedard generated several chances, the second unit with Lukas Reichel and Nick Foligno got the Hawks the equalizer.

nick @ nite pic.twitter.com/ymeuYU3raO

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 6, 2023

Bedard drew his second penalty of the first period on Hartman who interfered with him. Despite the penalty, the Blackhawks were unable to capitalize. The first period ended with the Blackhawks and Wild tied at 1–1.

In the second period, Reese Johnson was level by Connor Dewar on a clean hit. Dewar and Johnson fought each other, with Johnson getting in some good shots. Shortly after the Johnson fight, Bedard drew his third penalty of the contest. But, while generating energy and good chances, the Blackhawks were turned away on the opportunity.

Following a Minnesota power play, newly acquired Ryan Donato was able to find Taylor Hall streaking down the middle of the ice. Hall beat the Flower with a nice move.

TAYLOR HALL pic.twitter.com/unVR9dYTIz

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 6, 2023

The second period ended with the Blackhawks up 2–1

In the third period, the Wild were able to tie the game as Wyatt Kaiser blew a tire trying to retrieve the puck in his own end. Kaiser going down allowed Maroon to score the game-tying goal. The Blackhawks then had to kill several penalties to keep the game knotted at 2–2, which was the score at the end of regulation.

The Hawks went to overtime for the third time this preseason. The overtime chaos ended with the score staying tied. In the shootout, Bedard could not get a shot off on Fleury. Fleury would shut down bids from from Bedard, Hall and Reichel  to get the win for Minnesota.

Analysis

There is no love lost between the Wild and Blackhawks. The game was physical and tense. The young players are going to drive this team, specifically Bedard. Bedard drew four penalties throughout the game and was buzzing around the ice all night. His top line with Hall had several great offensive chances. Every time Bedard is on the ice, he is a factor in the play.

On the defensive side of the ice, Kevin Korchinski is very quick on his skates and can often make up for mistakes with his speed. Kaiser had some nice defensive plays but also lost his edge that led to the game-tying to goal. These two young defenseman need to continue to grow defensively in their own end.

Other bright sports were bubble players like Johnson. Johnson brought a physical element to the game. He had two big hits toward the end of the first period and then got into a fight in the second period.

In net, Arvid Soderblom had a really nice performance despite being let down by his defense at times. He looks to take the next step in his development on becoming an regular NHL goalie.

The Blackhawks’ final preseason game is Saturday against the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One timers — Oct. 5 vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Ultimately, the Avalanche dropped the game 4–3, allowing Minnesota to score three goals in the third period.

Going into the contest, Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt was going to be a tough goalie to score on. As one of the top goalie prospects in the league, the Avalanche had their work cut out for them.

In the first period, Colorado was ready to step up to the challenge. All lines were locked in and focused, looking cohesive. Only 4:10 into the first period, a pass from Fredrik Olofsson to Joel Kiviranta put the Avalanche ahead on the board.

And that’s a goal! Kiviranta gets the #Avs on the board@TheRinkColorado #GoAvsGo

— Savvy Rafkin (@savvyrafkin) September 24, 2023

While aggressive play seemed to pay off, the Avalanche stacked up 18 penalty minutes. Leaving the team shorthanded allowed the Wild to capitalize. Sam Malinski spent the most time in the box, owning eight of the 18 minutes.

The Wild could not take advantage of the penalties by Henry Bowlby, Tomas Tatar and Saige Weinstein in the first period to even the score.

By the second period, the proactive play became a disadvantage. Malinski, Jack Johnson and Corey Schueneman committed the first three penalties of the period but were later followed by two from their opponents.

Unlike the first period, sloppy play became apparent, and a power play became the perfect scoring opportunity for Minnesota to get past Justus Annunen to tie the score at 1–1.

The rest of the period remained scoreless.

Heading into the third period, the Avalanche cleaned up the penalties, but it was not enough to keep Minnesota away from offensive momentum. After a goal from the Wild snuck past Arvid Holm, a pass from Ryan Sandelin to Bowlby tied the game back up at 2–2.

Two more Minnesota tallies put the Avalanche behind, and with nine seconds left in the last leg of the game, Riley Tufte put the final goal on the board to trim the score to 4–3.

Preseason is for learning, and the Avalanche have a lot to work with, but their time is limited. All eyes are on the coaching staff to see what adjustments will be made to produce a successful lineup.

With inevitable roster changes being made, Monday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights will demonstrate how the players’ performance affects the game’s result.

The post Avalanche drop first preseason game to Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Connor Bedard was shining bright at last night’s rookie showcase in Saint Paul. pic.twitter.com/owDNEUzd9y

— NHL (@NHL) September 17, 2023

While Bedard’s renowned release was on full display, Chicago netminder Drew Commesso (2020, round 2, No. 46) blocked all the St. Louis Blues shots that came his way and defenseman Kevin Korchinski (2022, round 1, No. 7) looked the part of a future top-pairing blueliner.

Bedard told reporters it was nice to get going again after five months.

“So much fun to be with the guys, getting here, the music’s playing, and you just have that mojo going in,” Bedard said after the game. “That was the best part, just getting back into it … it was fun.”

Towering defenseman Louis Crevier (2020, round 7, No. 188) put the Blackhawks on the board with a shot toward a crowded net-front that found its way to the back of the net. It was the type of play the Blackhawks seem to have been missing in past seasons, finishing 30th in Corsi shot attempts percentage each of the last two seasons. Bedard followed it up with a wrister that set hockey Twitter ablaze as it was everything fans dreamed it would be, heavy, accurate and lethal.

Connor Bedard’s release is extra terrestrial… https://t.co/i6bwU9STNm

— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) September 17, 2023

Colton Dach (2021, round 2, No. 62) drove hard to the net and added to the lead with a careening puck off a St. Louis defender. Bedard capped the scoring with a pair of goals to round out the hat trick. 

BEDARD’S RELEASE IS INSANE pic.twitter.com/VEoUHW8pY8

— Pavel Barber (@HeyBarber) September 17, 2023

Connor Bedard's hat trick goal looks just so nonchalant: pic.twitter.com/J2pc8sUoC9

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 17, 2023

In all, the players—Bedard included—who needed to look impressive for the Blackhawks did. Commesso, Korchinski, Nolan Allan (2021, round 1, No. 32) and Ethan Del Mastro (2021, round 4, No. 105) all played well enough to warrant notice on the broadcast and social media alike.

On Sunday, the Minnesota Wild would take the 6–4 win, but Blackhawks prospects looked impressive again, including Ryder Rolston. The former University of Notre Dame forward was flying on his shifts and picked up the Blackhawks’ second goal of the game. Chicago acquired Rolston in April 2021 from the Colorado Avalanche.

Ryder Rolston puts the #Blackhawks back on top. pic.twitter.com/OXvoBnjZGH

— Brent Meske (@brentmeskepr) September 17, 2023

Chicago additionally picked up goals from Nick Lardis (2023, round 3, No. 67), Dach and Martin Misiak (2023, round 2, No. 55).

Nick Lardis puts the #Blackhawks up 1. pic.twitter.com/j0nBESshOW

— Brent Meske (@brentmeskepr) September 17, 2023

Nick Lardis again? If not, Colton Dach. Either way, Nolan Allan with a great set up for the #Blackhawks. pic.twitter.com/5VxOPTAcGM

— Brent Meske (@brentmeskepr) September 17, 2023

Martin Misiak's goal from the 2nd period for the #Blackhawks. pic.twitter.com/PaVwqpPiAd

— Brent Meske (@brentmeskepr) September 17, 2023

While this weekend’s games are ultimately meaningless, they hold a great value for the prospects, coaches and fans alike. It was the first chance to see Bedard on the ice in a Blackhawks jersey and a chance to see a handful of prospects who might find their way onto a roster for what is bound to be a bottom-of-the-league Blackhawks team yet again this season. Now, we wait for the first official preseason game when the Blackhawks host the Blues on Sept. 28.

The post Bedard delivers in first Blackhawks appearance, Blackhawks split at Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase appeared first on The Rink.

• The Wild jumped out to early lead in the first period with a goal from Matt Boldy. The Blackhawks responded with a goal from Joey Anderson to tie the game at 1–1.
• Head coach Luke Richardson said the Blackhawks made some adjustments and followed their game plan into the second period. The adjustments resulted in Anders Bjork notching his first goal of the season.
• Entering the third period, the Blackhawks carried a 2–1 lead and were outshooting the Wild by a wide margin. With the No. 1 seed in the Central Division still on the line, the Wild turned it on. Marcus Johansson scored two goals to wrestle the lead away from the Hawks.
• Gustav Nyquist scored an empty-net goal to cement the victory. The Wild were victorious 4–2.

In the game, Brock Faber had one shot and six blocked shots. Faber signed entry-level contract on Sunday after playing for the NCAA National Championship with the University of Minnesota on Saturday.

Tank update

The Blackhawks currently hold the 32nd spot in the NHL, however, they are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have a game in hand on the Blackhawks. The race for the last spot in the NHL is coming down to the wire. Columbus takes on the Flyers on Tuesday, the Penguins on Thursday and finish with the Sabres on Friday.

Drew Commesso

Drew Commesso signed his entry-level contract on Tuesday, foregoing his last season at Boston University to join the Blackhawks’ organization. The contract begins next season and holds a value of $925,000 per season. Commesso also signed a professional tryout agreement with the Rockford IceHogs for the remainder of this season. Despite playing three years of college hockey and also appearing in the Olympics, Commesso is going to need some seasoning at the AHL level before being a mainstay with the Blackhawks in the future.

Prospects—specifically goalies—take sometime to develop. The Blackhawks have not developed a goalie since Corey Crawford. Crawford spent five full seasons in the AHL before joining the Blackhawks as a regular in 2010–11, but even then, the plan was for him to be the backup to Marty Turco. If you want a non-Blackhawks example, former BU goalie Jake Oettinger was drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2017 in Chicago. He spent 54 games in the AHL over the course of three seasons before becoming an NHL regular. So, people need to pump the brakes on Commesso being the Blackhawks’ goalie next season. He might make the odd appearance as an injury call-up throughout the season, but he will not be one of the team’s two primary goaltenders.

The Blackhawks return to the ice on Tuesday, traveling to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — April 10 vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

After a scoreless first period, Ryan Reaves notched the first goal of the game. Reaves stole the puck from rookie defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, who fell down when pressured by Reaves, and the big man beat Alex Stalock for the goal. In the third period, Lukas Reichel rushed up the ice in a 2-on-1 situation, and instead of passing, he shot the puck past Filip Gustavsson for the Blackhawks’ lone goal of the game to tie things at 1–1. But Hartman put Minnesota ahead for good with his breakaway goal late in the third period. Hartman hip checked Connor Murphy off the puck at center ice to open up the breakaway goal. The Wild added an empty-netter to make the final score 3–1.

• The Blackhawks are currently in 30th in the tank-a-thon rankings, just one point ahead of Columbus and San Jose for the bottom spot.
• In a developmental season, Reichel has four goals and four assists at the NHL level in 16 games.
• Kaiser has now appeared in three game this season. He has zero points.
• The Blackhawks signed Paul Ludwinski to an entry-level contract on Saturday. Ludwinski was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2022. The 18-year-old has appeared in 47 games for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL and is expected to finish the year in the OHL.

The Blackhawks’ next game is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CDT against the Vancouver Canucks. While the game is the Blackhawks’ Pride Night game, the Hawks will not be wearing Pride jerseys during pre-game warmups. The decision was made by Blackhawks management to protect their Russian players’ families against retribution. While the NHL has since debunked this theory, the Blackhawks have not changed their stance on the jerseys.

The Blackhawks now join an ever-growing list of the NHL teams not wearing Pride jerseys on their organization’s Pride night.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — March 25 vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

If you just look at the stats, Petr Mrazek looks like he played a bad game, but he kept the Blackhawks in the game far longer than they should have been. Saving 18 of 21 is not going to get you much favor, but he really made some huge stops early on.

Jonathan Toews scored his 10th of the season on a puck that deflected off Wild defenseman Jon Merril and snuck between Fleury’s pads.

Kirill Kaprizov had a fairly quiet three-point night. It seemed like the Blackhawks were determined to make Sam Steel look like an all-star, though. He was involved in several big plays.

If you want to look for a positive, the Blackhawks won 61% of their face-offs in this game. The only Blackhawks center that lost more than he won was Max Domi (38%), which is unusual.

The Blackhawks will host Jacob Trouba and the New York Rangers on Sunday in what is sure to be a physical tilt. Puck drop is 6:30 p.m. CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Dec. 16 vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

— Boris Katchouk made his presence felt in the first period, plastering Frederick Gaudreau with a monstrous hit in the Minnesota zone. The outing was Katchouk’s second of the season after missing the first seven games with an ankle injury.

— Jonathan Toews continued his hot start to the season with another goal, his fifth of the season. Defenseman Filip Roos picked up his first career point on the tally after reading the play well to step up and start the rush for the Hawks.

— Andreas Athanasiou continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Blackhawks. His offensive revelation saw a potential goal-of-the-year candidate during the game, turning Matt Dumba inside out before sending a slick backhander top shelf past Fleury.

— Max Domi further endeared himself to Patrick Kane, standing up to Tyson Jost after Jost hit Kane from behind. Head coach Luke Richardson also praised Domi’s willingness to answer following the game. Thankfully, Kane was not injured on the play.

— Alex Stalock enjoyed another quality start between the pipes for Chicago, making 32 stops, including a nice save on Joel Eriksson Ek on a partial breakaway in the final minute of overtime.

The Blackhawks will be back in action on Tuesday, hosting the New York Islanders for a 7:30 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Oct. 30 vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Rask was immediately assigned to Charlotte to join the Kraken’s AHL affiliate. On the outside, this looks like a depth deal, but it is mainly a salary cap deal to give the Wild some cap breathing room.

TRADE: The #SeaKraken have acquired forward Victor Rask from Minnesota in exchange for future considerations. Minnesota will retain 50 percent of Rask’s contract, and he will report to @CheckersHockey (AHL).

Read more → https://t.co/pW2UCKhvbz pic.twitter.com/ZpXOtoc2Bx

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) March 21, 2022

Rask just turned 29 on March 1 and has appeared in almost 500 NHL games between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Wild. The Swedish-born forward has put up 215 points (85 goals, 130 assists) in his eight-year NHL career. He is in the last year of a six-year contract with a $4 million cap hit.

In another small transaction, the Kraken claimed defenseman Derrick Pouliot off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights to fill some lineup spots left open by trade deadline deals. Pouliot signed a one-year deal with the Golden Knights on March 17, and was put on waivers to be sent to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, after playing two games with the Golden Knights.

He has appeared in over 200 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and Golden Knights and has 49 career points (eight goals, 41 assists).

Date	The-Rink Division	Outgoing Player/Pick	Opposite Team	Player/Pick Received
3/16/2022		Calle Jarnkrok		'22 2nd round pick (acquired from FLA), '23 3rd round pick, and a '24 7th round pick
3/18/2022		Brandon Hagel, '22 4th round pick, '24 4th round pick		Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, ‘23 1st round pick, ‘24 1st round pick
3/20/2022		Mark Giordano (50% salary retained), Colin Blackwell		'22 2nd round pick, '23 2nd round pick, and, '24 3rd round pick
3/20/2022		Jeremy Lauzon		'22 2nd round pick
3/20/2022		Mason Appleton		'23 4th round pick
3/21/2022		Marcus Johansson (50% salary retained)		Daniel Sprong, '22 4th round pick, and '23 6th round pick
3/21/2022		Marc-Andre Fleury (50% salary retained)		Conditional '22 2nd (potential 1st) round pick
3/21/2022		Ryan Carpenter		'24 5th round pick
3/21/2022		Future Considerations		Victor Rask

The post BREAKING: Kraken wrap first trade deadline acquiring Victor Rask, claiming Derrick Pouliot appeared first on The Rink.

BREAKING: Hearing #Blackhawks are trading Marc-Andre Fleury to #mnwild. Sounds like conditional 2nd round pick that can become a 1st for CHI.@DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2022

The conditional pick in Marc-Andre Fleury trade is in 2022, per source. #Blackhawks https://t.co/C5fNTSpCeK

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 21, 2022

The pick has the potential to be upgraded to a first-round pick should the Wild advance to the Western Conference Final and Fleury records at least four victories within the first two rounds of the playoffs. Additionally, the Blackhawks are retaining 50% of Fleury’s cap hit for the remainder of the season.

Fleury conditions: 2nd round pick becomes a 1st for #Blackhawks if MIN reaches Western Conference Final and Fleury accounts for 4 wins or more in first two rounds.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2022

#Blackhawks are retaining 50% on Fleury.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2022

Fleury performed admirably behind a poor Blackhawks team this season, posting a 19–21–5 record with a 2.95 goals against average, .908 save percentage and four shutouts.

Obviously the move solidifies Minnesota’s goaltending situation, as the Wild will now trot out a tandem of Fleury and Cam Talbot, as Minnesota traded Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks in a corresponding deal. With a deep forward group and reliable veteran blue line, the Wild should have a fighting chance of getting to the Western Conference Final, especially now with Fleury between the pipes, which would trigger the upgrade to the first-round pick.

For the Blackhawks, they will now run with a tandem of Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia for the rest of the season, while Arvid Soderblom will stay with the Rockford IceHogs to lead their playoff push.

The deal makes sense in a number of ways for both sides. For the Wild, they get the proven netminder General Manager Bill Guerin was hoping for. Fleury will have a chance at another Stanley Cup, and did not have to travel far for the opportunity. Guerin likely played a key role in convincing Fleury to accept a move to Minnesota, as the two won a Stanley Cup together in Pittsburgh in 2009. Of course, for the Blackhawks, they acquire a quality draft pick in return for Fleury, who they essentially acquired for free last summer.

Needless to say, Blackhawks fans should be hoping for a strong showing in the playoffs for the Wild, as having the pick upgrade to a first-round pick would certainly be a big plus for Chicago’s rebuild, especially without having their own first-round pick, which was dealt in the Seth Jones trade last summer.

With arguably Chicago’s two biggest trade chips in Fleury and Brandon Hagel having been dealt, the attention now turns to the likes of Ryan Carpenter, Calvin de Haan and Dominik Kubalik as the 2 p.m. CDT deadline approaches.

Date	The-Rink Division	Outgoing Player/Pick	Opposite Team	Player/Pick Received
3/16/2022		Calle Jarnkrok		'22 2nd round pick (acquired from FLA), '23 3rd round pick, and a '24 7th round pick
3/18/2022		Brandon Hagel, '22 4th round pick, '24 4th round pick		Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, ‘23 1st round pick, ‘24 1st round pick
3/20/2022		Mark Giordano (50% salary retained), Colin Blackwell		'22 2nd round pick, '23 2nd round pick, and, '24 3rd round pick
3/20/2022		Jeremy Lauzon		'22 2nd round pick
3/20/2022		Mason Appleton		'23 4th round pick
3/21/2022		Marcus Johansson (50% salary retained)		Daniel Sprong, '22 4th round pick, and '23 6th round pick
3/21/2022		Marc-Andre Fleury (50% salary retained)		Conditional '22 2nd (potential 1st) round pick
3/21/2022		Ryan Carpenter		'24 5th round pick
3/21/2022		Future Considerations		Victor Rask

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks trade Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks fell to division foe Minnesota Wild 3–1 Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. For those who like low-scoring games, this was the one for you. It was not until 16:47 in the third period that Ryan Hartman buried the go-ahead goal to put the Wild up 2–1.

For those keeping score at home, the Blackhawks have not played well against the Wild this season. They have been outscored 8–1 in their last two meetings.

The Wild struck first, as Frederick Gaudreau netted his ninth of the season. The Wild dominated the majority of the shot categories going into the first intermission.

#Blackhawks trail Wild 1-0 at the end of Period 1.

Shot attempts: 25-14 MIN
Shots on goal: 11-7 MIN
5-on-5 scoring chances: 4-3 MIN
5-on-5 high danger chances: 1-0 CHI pic.twitter.com/T1DBL3GlYh

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 19, 2022

A scoreless second period meant we had a hockey game on our hands. The Blackhawks did not just fold up knowing half the lineup could be on a plane out of town soon.

Nevertheless, Seth Jones scored for the Blackhawks in the third period, tying the game up at 1–1. For Jones, it ended a 35-game goal drought.

TIE GAME A LA SETH JONES pic.twitter.com/wHnimYyuGM

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 19, 2022

The Wild would close out the game near the end of regulation like they have multiple times this season. The Blackhawks have now lost three of four and their losing ways may continue if veterans are traded.

The rebuild has begun and it is not the “rebuild” that the previous hockey operations group tried to sell fans on. Kyle Davidson is tearing down the team with the hope of building it back up to fight to get your name etched in history on the Stanley Cup. On Saturday, we got a glimpse of what is to come. Three new, young Blackhawks were put in the lineup: Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh and Alex Vlasic. Vlasic, the Blackhawks’ second-round pick in 2019, is another young defenseman to join the already loaded group of young blueliners. As for Katchouk and Raddysh, both were acquired in the Brandon Hagel trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I am expecting more young prospects to join these three in the lineup in the coming weeks knowing the veterans who could be dealt by Monday’s deadline.

Latest rumors

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1505307606860308481

Mark Giordano and Calvin de Haan are on the clock. The next top D available in the rental market. Lots of activity today, obviously.

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 19, 2022

If I were to say what two Blackhawks could be on the move next, it is these two. Marc Andre-Fleury is still playing at an elite level. He has been a joy to watch. But the Blackhawks are doing no good keeping him around with the team sinking further and further. I know it is a sticky situation with Fleury given he took some time to even decide if he wanted to join the Blackhawks. But if all goes well, the Blackhawks will have more draft capital and Fleury gets a chance to compete for the crown.

Calvin de Haan is a guy you want on your hockey team. His shot blocks rank among the best in the NHL over the past few seasons. He may not fill the stat sheet, but he will for sure help your team win. We are seeing contenders paying steep prices to get who they want. Davidson did a good job getting the most for Hagel and the Blackhawks will benefit because of it.

The post Blackhawks fall to Wild 3–1 as trade deadline looms appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks’ energy appeared to be ramped up early, as forwards Henrik Borgstrom and Alex DeBrincat both scored in the first period to give Chicago a 2–1 edge at the end of the frame. Minnesota found the back of the net when Joel Eriksson Ek beat Kevin Lankinen for his 12th goal of the season.

What a pass by Seth Jones to Alex DeBrincat, who scores his 24th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Rj8CEJG2Yp

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2022

Borgstrom made an excellent defensive play at the Wild blue line that generated in a quick scoring chance that was kicked aside by Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, only to have Erik Gustafsson fire a puck on net that was deflected in front by Borgstrom. This is the type of effort the 24-year-old center needs to give on every shift. Creating a turnover, a shot and then stopping in front for a redirect cannot be a result of him sitting in the press box the night before. This type of effort must be shown every night in order for Borgstrom to show he belongs.

borgy's back ALRIGHT pic.twitter.com/rULM31XkCV

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2022

Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala scored in the third period of play with another goal sandwiched in between by Borgstrom, his fourth goal of the season, to tie the game up at 3–3. Chicago surrendered the last goal when Minnesota pulled Kahkoken. Legendary television play-by-play announcer Pat Foley mentioned Minnesota had scored a wild 12 goals this season already with the goaltender pulled. Minnesota would not disappoint their fans and tied the game up late.

Henrik Borgstrom, as of now, is being credited with his second goal of the game. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/tuC70o4YU9

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2022

Minnesota’s second goal would come after Chicago captian Jonathan Toews was sent off for hooking Kaprizov and received an unsportmsnalike conduct to add to his frustrations. The double-minor penalty resulted in the Wild finding the score sheet and left Toews with egg on his face.

OMG KEVIN#mnwild pic.twitter.com/37pXFlqJBi

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 23, 2022

In overtime, Chicago could not put the Wild away with Kane in the penalty box for hooking Kaprizov, who in turn received a high-sticking penalty. With the most talented overtime player in the game in Kane in the sin bin, Marcus Foligno scored the pretty game-winner on a nice play from Jordan Greenway for a 4–3 Minnesota victory. The Blackhawks really have no chance when Kane is not on the ice in the overtime 3-on-3, which leaves DeBrincat as the only talented skater that can finish a game consistently.

Analysis

Chicago showed heart after Friday night’s embarrassment by coming out and playing with energy and showing the ability to jump on top of the home team with the first two goals of the game. However, once Minnesota decided it was time to play, the Wild are far too talented for Chicago to generate much sustained success. Let’s face it, fans, this Chicago lineup is not very good.

Lankinen kept his team in the game for most of the game until Minnesota fired 34 shots in the final two frames of regulation.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night in Denver to face off against the highly talented Colorado Avalanche. Chicago should easily be outclassed in yet another contest.

The post Chicago falls to Minnesota 4–3 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

Former Blackhawk Ryan Hartman scored twice in the first frame, and Marcus Foligno added another to give the visitors a 3–0 advantage at the break.

In the second period, Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after Calen Addison tallied Minnesota’s fourth goal. Fleury ended his night surrendering four goals on 13 shots. Brandon Duhaime would add a fifth goal before the period’s end, making it 5–0 Wild with a period to play.

Dylan Strome would score a meaningless goal for the Hawks in the third period. Patrick Kane and Brandon Hagel registered assists, and the game would end 5–1.

Brandon HagelPatrick KaneDylan Strome

Kane sets up Strome for his 4th goal of the season to get the #Blackhawks on the board in garbage time. Kane extends his point streak to 9 games with the assist.pic.twitter.com/zN8ztZQeOm

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 22, 2022

Analysis

Contrary to the rare excitement of the Hawks winning a game here and there, this team will not make the playoffs. Now at 15–19–2, there is too much ground to make up after their wretched start. There are too many teams in the Western Conference, the Canadian ones in particular, who have games in hand on Chicago, and given the talent level and inconsistent play of this team, the postseason will not happen.

If fans are hoping for any semblance of good news for the remainder of the 2021–22 season, it is the slight possibility that Interim General Manager Kyle Davidson can pull a rabbit out of a hat before the trade deadline, move some parts and find some decent returns. Fleury’s name will be frequently mentioned, but do not expect a team to mortgage their future to acquire him. Other possibilities to consider are winger Dominik Kubalik and defenseman Calvin de Haan. Do not count on a miracle move consisting of Kane or Jonathan Toews. Hawks fans, bundle up for yet another long and cold winter following this once proud franchise.

The post Blackhawks embarrassed 5-1 at home by Wild appeared first on The Rink.

Three plays tonight for the Tommy Train passengers. Remember, pick up your food voucher at the station and $1 Busch lights on the drink cart tonight.

(Odds courtesy of BetRivers)

Nashville Predators -125 @ Detroit Red Wings

O/U: 5.5 +110

My pick: Red Wings ML +108. We got a matchup of old conference foes in Detriot tonight. I really like the Detroit Red Wings as home underdogs here. They are 9–2 in their own barn and four of their five wins on the win streak have come at home. This pick holds great value. No need to overthink. Ride the Wings.

Columbus Blue Jackets @ Toronto Maple Leafs -250

O/U: 6 +100

My pick: Maple Leafs three-way -157. Road games have not been good to the Columbus Blue Jackets in recent weeks, losing four straight and being outscored 18–6. Elvis Merzlikins gets the start between the pipes and his road goals against average is 4.32. The Toronto Maples Leafs should have no problem taking care of business tonight at home.

Minnesota Wild @ Edmonton Oilers -122

O/U: 6.5 -134

My pick: Over 6.5 -134. Two teams here who can flat out score. The Minnesota Wild ride a six-game win streak into Edmonton tonight, so their ML at +106 is something I would consider as well.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter, @ThomasGibbons_3, for my bonus play at 5 p.m. CST.

Happy gambling, and remember, always ride the Tommy Train.

Basics of hockey betting Money line — Winning team Puck line — Team wins by at least two goals (-1.5 when placing a bet) Three-way line — Team wins in regulation  Over/under — Total goals scored during a game including overtime but not a shootout  Parlay — A combination of two or more bets

The information contained on this website is for entertainment purposes only. Please confirm any wagering regulations in your jurisdiction, as they vary from state to state, province to province and country to country. Using this information to contravene any law or statute is prohibited. The Rink is not associated with or endorsed by any professional league, association or team.

The post Tommy’s Puckline Picks — Dec. 7, 2021 appeared first on The Rink.

The Kraken welcomed forward Colin Blackwell to the lineup after starting the season on the injured reserve list.

The star of this game was Wild center Rem Pitlick. He had a natural hat trick and the only three goals of the game headed into the third period. Seattle started off really slow with only three shots on net in the first period, but were only down by one goal.

Pitlick scored two more in the second period despite the Kraken leading in shots on goal, 13–9.

The third period ended up slightly more exciting, as Marcus Johansson scored a power play goal halfway through the final period to break the shutout and cut the lead to two goals.

Jojo scores his first goal as a #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/KMoqhUvyTK

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 14, 2021

Nico Sturm added an easy empty-net goal with five minutes remaining as Head Coach Dave Hakstol used the rarely successful “Pull the goalie with over five minutes remaining and down by two goals” maneuver.

Alexander Wennberg scored a late goal for the Kraken with one minute remaining in the game, but it was far too little, far too late. The shot total favored Seattle 30–22, but the final score was 4–2.

Anchor points

Goaltending! Goaltending! Goaltending! It looks like Hakstol is just going to keep throwing Philipp Grubauer out there to struggle until he works it out on the ice. The rule of thumb is that giving up less than 25 shots in a game should put you in a position to win. The truth is that Seattle was not really ever in this game. If you check the heat map, all five of the non-empty-net goals were in the high-danger area. This is where the game was won/lost. I will concede that two of the goals were breakaways, but Pitlick made the same exact move on both.

That said, who could have predicted that a 24-year-old center playing in his 16th NHL game ever would score all the goals the Wild needed with a natural hat trick before the second intermission? No one. He had three goals on three shots in only 12:53 time on ice.

The good news is that the Kraken scored on the power play. Baby steps. This pulled them out of the basement for the worst power play, putting them ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins by 1.8%.

Analytics, once again, favored the Kraken. They led 5-on-5 in shot attempts (Corsi 54%–46%), unblocked shots (Fenwick 57%–43%), high-danger chances for (HDCF% 64%–37%) and expected goal for (xGF% 56%–44%). This all tells you one thing: Goaltending is still the reason for their demise.

The only line that was negative in possession was the Wennberg, Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz line, which was at 35% for on-ice even strength Corsi.

The Kraken are off until Wednesday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time at Climate Pledge Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST.

The post RECAP: Kraken drop fourth straight in 4–2 loss to Wild appeared first on The Rink.

After starting off their previous game with a quick lead, the Kraken surrendered the lead just under seven minutes into play. Wild wing Ryan Hartman found a soft spot in the slot area and snapped a seeing-eye pass from phenom Kirill Kaprizov past a surprised Philipp Grubauer. Kraken wing Calle Jarnkrok actually had Hartman covered well, but the former Chicago Blackhawk was still able to get the shot off.

The Wild then thought they took a 2–0 lead, but the goal was waved off for high-sticking, keeping the margin at one.

This game may become the “Haydn Fleury Coming Out Game” because the defenseman had both the game-tying and game-winning goals for Seattle. Fleury scored his first with just under seven minutes remaining in the first period. Fleury found an errant Jaden Schwartz centering pass and one-timed the puck past a surprised Cam Talbot for his first goal as a member of the Kraken.

The first period ended with the score tied at 1–1, as the Kraken led in shots 13–10.

The second period is where momentum opened up for the home team. They peppered Talbot with 17 shots while only surrendering five. Fleury scored his second of the night just over seven minutes into the middle frame from an unlikely spot. He took a pass from Ryan Donato and faked a long shot. Fleury then wheeled around a defender and was stopped by Talbot, but picked up the rebound and wrapped the puck around the far post. The skill that Fleury displayed on this particular sequence is what the Carolina Hurricanes saw in the young defenseman when they drafted him seventh overall in 2014.

Two-goal night for Haydn Fleury pic.twitter.com/30AMJQuPGz

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 29, 2021

Fleury’s nifty tally gave Seattle a lead that they never relinquished.

If not for the heroics of Talbot, the Kraken may have really ran the score up on the Wild, but the veteran goalie kept the game within reach for Minnesota. That said, the third period was mostly controlled by the visitors, as they outshot Seattle 16–8.

The score, however, remained 2–1 until the final minutes of regulation. Brandon Tanev and Mark Giordano added late empty-net goals to make the game look more lopsided than it actually was, but it ended up another two points and a tally in the win column for the home team.

Anchor points

The Kraken had a solid possession game, with only Jordan Eberle and Jamie Oleksiak under 50% in 5-on-5 Corsi.

Philipp Grubauer was very good, once again. He stopped 30 of 31 shots and held the narrow Kraken lead long enough for the two late empty-net goals.

The Kraken continue to have success by pushing shots to the slot. Based on their team makeup, this is probably the right focus. High danger chances were 10–4 at 5-on-5 in favor of the Kraken.

Joonas Donskoi has been snake-bitten lately. He continues to make plays and go hard to the net, though. Sooner or later, the flood gates will open.

The Kraken will get back to the grind on Sunday, as they host the New York Rangers at Climate Pledge Arena for a Halloween tilt. The puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT.

The post RECAP: Kraken win second in a row in 4–1 triumph over Wild appeared first on The Rink.

I really like the board today and got three picks for you all tonight. Grab your complimentary Lay’s Barbeque Chips and hop on board the Tommy Train!

(Odds courtesy of BetRivers)

Vegas Golden Knights (+155) @ Colorado Avalanche (-182)

O/U: 6 -105

My pick: Avalanche puck line -1.5 +138. The Vegas Golden Knights are in rough shape injury-wise. Until they get healthy, their lineup is going to struggle, especially against superior opponents. Let’s ride the Colorado Avalanche at home with great value on the puck line. You have to wonder if this game could get out of hand.

Tampa Bay Lightning (-127) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (+108)

O/U: 5.5 -120

My pick: Over. On paper, this matchup screams take the Tampa Bay Lightning money line, puck line, any way you can. However, this beat-up Pittsburgh Penguins team beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7–1 the other night with a roster depleted by injury. Anything can happen any given night in the NHL. That example is one reason I will take stay away from a side here and take the total. Both teams are giving up a lot of shots. I was a bit shocked I was able to get this at 5.5. Let’s ride it!

Minnesota Wild ( -124) @ Vancouver Canucks (+108)

O/U: 5.5 -122

My pick: Canucks ML. I really like the Vancouver Canucks tonight. They have won two games in a row, on the road, and are coming back to their barn in what should be a good game. Thatcher Demko will handle the netminder duties for the home squad. If you want to add a prop for this game to make it interesting, Connor Garland is +285 to score a goal. He has a point in every game this season and three goals in his last four games.

Happy gambling and remember, always ride the Tommy Train.

Basics of hockey betting Money line — Winning team Puck line — Team wins by at least two goals (-1.5 when placing a bet) Three-way line — Team wins in regulation  Over/under — Total goals scored during a game including overtime but not a shootout  Parlay — A combination of two or more bets

The information contained on this website is for entertainment purposes only. Please confirm any wagering regulations in your jurisdiction, as they vary from state to state, province to province and country to country. Using this information to contravene any law or statute is prohibited. The Rink is not associated with or endorsed by any professional league, association or team.

The post Tommy’s Puckline Picks — Oct. 26, 2021 appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks lineup

Alex DeBrincat — Tyler Johnson — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — Jonathan Toews — Philipp Kurashev
Henrik Borgstrom — Kirby Dach — Dylan Strome
Jujhar Khaira — MacKenzie Entwistle — Ryan Carpenter

Jake McCabe — Connor Murphy
Calvin de Haan — Seth Jones
Riley Stillman — Ian Mitchell

First period

Less than three minutes into the matchup, former Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman beat Fleury top-shelf glove side for a quick 1–0 Minnesota advantage. Hartman corralled an excellent stretch pass along the boards from Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon as Chicago was caught making a slow change.

Chicago looked like they were skating in sand as they tried to get their momentum going when forward Henrik Borgstrom beat Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen five hole after a nice feed from Dylan Strome from behind the Wild net. Borgstrom’s first goal of the preseason tied the game 1–1.

With 4:40 left in the first period, forward Alex DeBrincat buried his own rebound after Patrick Kane did an excellent job buying himself time and drawing two Wild defensemen toward him, leaving DeBrincat all alone in front of Kahkonen, who made no mistake on a rebound opportunity. DeBrincat’s tally gave Chicago a 2–1 lead in spite being outshot by the visitors 15–7 in the frame.

What a beautiful play all-around: The stretch pass by Seth Jones. The no-look pass by Patrick Kane. And Alex DeBrincat cleans up the rebound. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/vik6HriA2c

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 10, 2021

Second period

Chicago extended its lead to 3–1 after forward Ryan Carpenter scored a shorthanded goal following defenseman Seth Jones taking a penalty for slashing. Carpenter’s goal came after Riley Stillman found Philipp Kurashev, who in turn made a nice cross-ice pass to a streaking Carpenter along the left dot.

As Pat Foley gleefully stated on the broadcast, at 3:33 left in the period, Jonathan Toews scored on the power play after DeBrincat appeared to hit the crossbar and the puck found its way to Toews’ midsection and ricocheted behind Kahkonen. Toews was awarded for going to the net and was the recipient of the lucky bounce.

Jonathan Toews: Whatever it takes pic.twitter.com/mwTPr90qA4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 10, 2021

Third period

Chicago extended the lead to 5–1 when Toews redirected a nice feed from DeBrincat on another man advantage. Toews did an excellent job of positioning himself in front of the net and had an easy conversion by keeping his stick on the ice. The goal was Chicago’s second power play tally in the game.

Halfway through the final frame, Chicago had outshot Minnesota 26–6 since the end of the first period. Early in the contest, the Blackhawks spent too much time looking for the extra pass of trying to make the “pretty” pass. For the past period and a half, Chicago did an excellent job moving toward the net and finding the “easy” pass and played a simple game of possession in the offensive zone.

TOEWSSSSSSSS pic.twitter.com/zgmeDmBBDQ

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 10, 2021

Analysis

Chicago sleep walked through most of the first period, but found themselves up 2–1 after being outshot 17–9 early in the game.

The power play struck twice tonight. If Chicago looks to be dangerous early in the season, the power play will need to be firing on all cylinders. Both goals were set up by excellent puck movement and not Kane holding the puck along the boards and four teammates standing still watching, as has been the case in recent years.

In the last meaningless game this season, no one appeared to be injured in the victory. The lineup could be the same in Colorado when Chicago takes on the Avalanche come Wednesday night.

Fleury stopped 25 shots in the victory. The reigning Vezina Trophy recipient looked excellent and in midseason form.

The Blackhawks open the regular season on Wednesday, facing the Colorado Avalanche for a 9 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post RECAP: Toews scores twice, Chicago cruises to 5–1 victory over Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

The Wild were playing their second game in as many nights on home ice following a 4–3 win in overtime against the St. Louis Blues.

First period

At 7:13 of the opening frame while Calvin De Haan was serving a minor penalty for tripping, the Wild needed just seven seconds of power play time to take a 1–0 lead and continue the Blackhawks’ struggles on the penalty kill. A face-off win by the Wild led to a soft shot by Mats Zuccarello from the slot, which Kevin Lankinen stopped, but Joel Eriksson Ek was alone on the doorstep and buried the rebound.

The Hawks were fortunate to be down 1–0 after one period thanks to Lankinen, who was strong out of the gate. The Wild outplayed and outshot the Hawks 12–8, with most of them being high-quality chances. 

Second period

The Blackhawks came out of the locker room and tilted the ice their way for the first half of the second period. Strong work in the neutral zone led to turnovers and multiple scoring opportunities off the rush. With Connor Murphy in the penalty box for slashing, Lankinen continued his stellar play and kept his team within a goal with four saves on one sequence during a Wild power play that the Hawks would eventually kill off. Lankinen also stopped Marcus Foligno on a breakaway in the final minute of the period.

After two, the Wild still led the Blackhawks 1–0. The Hawks had a 9–8 shots on goal advantage for the period, but the Wild still led in that department 20–17 through two.

Third period

After several scoring chances to open the period, the Blackhawks went on the power play at nearly the five-minute mark when Jared Spurgeon was guilty of tripping MacKenzie Entwistle on a great effort to retrieve the puck from the boards and drive to the net. On the ensuing power play, Kirby Dach made a slap pass from the high left circle to Dylan Strome, who had good positioning on Cam Talbot’s right side and deflected the puck in for the equalizer.

The game remained tied for just 88 seconds, as Kirill Kaprizov shot one from the point, which led to a mad scramble in front and the puck dribbled to the right of Lankinen, where a pinching Alex Goligoski jumped on the rebound to give the Wild a 2–1 lead.

At 13:29, the Blackhawks tied it when Brandon Hagel scored on a penalty shot, faking out Talbot to create a wide-open net for the equalizer. The penalty shot was drawn after Henrik Borgstrom made a perfect pass from just outside the blue line to spring Hagel in alone and was hooked by the Wild’s Matt Dumba after deking Talbot.

With 20.2 seconds left in regulation, former Blackhawk Ryan Hartman was sent to the penalty box for a high sticking minor. The Hawks nearly took the lead with 6.9 seconds left when Adam Gaudette’s wide-open rebound in the slot was backhanded over the net and out of play. The Blackhawks outshot the Wild 12–10 for the period, but Minnesota held a 30–29 edge in regulation.

Overtime

The Hawks began the extra frame with 100 seconds of power play time and nearly won it with the 4-on-3 advantage when Kirby Dach skated to the left of Talbot and floated the puck in between the net and the fallen Wild goaltender to create a yawning cage for Strome, who fanned on the shot then the puck missed the outstretched stick of Jacob Galvas in the slot.

At 2:34, Dumba buried the only registered shot during the extra session with a wrister from the top of the circle that went to the high glove side of Lankinen for the game winner. 

Analysis: The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: Kevin Lankinen was brilliant in this contest, as he single-handedly kept the Blackhawks in the game the entire night. He looked much more confident by challenging shooters, however, I would like to see him continue to improve in rebound control.

Jakub Galvas continued to be one of training camp’s biggest surprises. He played over 14 solid minutes and notched an assist on Dylan Strome’s power play goal. He skates well with the puck and appears to have a solid hockey IQ.

Okay, I confess. Strome played really well in this game, which he needed to do if he wanted any chance to start the season in Chicago. In addition to his goal, Strome was strong in the dot winning nine of 15 face-offs.

Henrik Borgstrom had another strong game. His creativity with the puck was on display on numerous occasions playing on the wing alongside Kirby Dach and Brandon Hagel.

Speaking of that Hagel fella, I think we have run out of ways to describe the value he brings to the Hawks every night. The guy can simply do everything and can play up and down the lineup.

The bad: The pair of Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy had a rough night defensively. They gave up a ton of high-quality scoring chances and had trouble defending the Wild’s top line of Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Perhaps it is just a matter of building chemistry with each other, but time will tell.

The ugly: That darn penalty kill, which gave up a goal just seven seconds into a man advantage for the Wild. At that time, the Hawks had only killed one of their last six shorthanded opportunities. On the positive side, the Hawks took one more minor penalty for the game, which they killed off. I guess it is something to build on.

The Blackhawks return to the United Center on Saturday night to face the Wild in their final preseason game. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on NBCSCH and on WGN 720.

The post Lankinen shines in Blackhawks’ 3–2 overtime loss in Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

Before the Stanley Cup playoffs officially begin, teams will have an opportunity to get their legs back under them with exhibition games leading into the weekend. Naturally, these tune-up games are being held between teams who have long storied and brand new rivalries. This is no exception for the Colorado Avalanche as they will take on the Minnesota Wild for a midday showdown.

The lone exhibition showdown against the Wild will be used to help players get their legs back under them, as the Avs prepare to battle for the top spot in the Western Conference, along with the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and the Vegas Golden Knights. Following their exhibition game against Minnesota, the Avalanche will begin their quest for the Western Conference crown against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Sunday, August 2 at 4:30 pm.

What to expect against Minnesota

I think once the players are able to knock off some rust after the first period, things could get fairly physical between the Avs and the Wild. Although it may not be on the same scale as Toronto vs Montreal or Calgary vs Edmonton, this is a rival for the Avalanche, and things can get heated quickly. However, I am only expecting a few hard hits and maybe a few post-whistle scuffles, as this is still only an exhibition game after all.

As reported by the Colorado Avalanche, there will be no experimenting with line combinations or testing players in particular situations. So with this in mind, look at the Avalanche to head into their exhibition showdown with the lineups they have recently been using, shown below.

Another thing fans can expect in the Avs exhibition showdown against Minnesota is to see both Pavel Francouz and Philipp Grubauer in the net at one point during the game against the Wild. It doesn’t matter who is starting the game, as both goaltenders will be in the net at one point of time against the Wild. Bednar has also stated that Grubauer and Francouz will split time in the net between the three round-robin games.

While it is not set in stone, there is also the strong possibility that we will see Bowen Byram play some minutes against the Minnesota Wild. After attending training camp last season, and playing in a few preseason games with the Avalanche, Byram tallied 52 points in 50 games for the Vancouver Giants.

With six games happening, it will be a full day of NHL hockey — something that fans have been waiting since March to say. In what should be an entertaining showdown, be sure to turn into Altitude or NHL Network to catch the Avalanche take on the Wild in their lone exhibition game at 12:30 p.m. MDT.

The post Colorado Avalanche vs Minnesota Wild – Exhibition Game Preview appeared first on The Rink.

In the first period, it was the Blackhawks who were dominated by the Minnesota Wild. The Wild came out on a mission and the Blackhawks did not meet their compete level in the first period. At one point during the first period, Chicago was being outshot 10-1. When the team did get on the offensive, Jonathan Toews delivered a knee to Alex Stalock.

Yikes. Knee right to the head. pic.twitter.com/ZC7IlJYVdn

— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) February 5, 2020

Much to the dismay of many observers, Stalock remained in the game. On the other side of the ice, Corey Crawford was showcasing his talents for all the NHL to see. Crawford was the only bright spot for the Hawks in the first period. The Blackhawks escaped with the score knotted at zero.

The second period was more of the same for the Blackhawks. Minnesota outworked and outplayed the Hawks in the second period. The Wild’s hard work finally paid off as Kevin Fiala hit the net. Adam Boqvist committed a turnover in his own zone leading to the first goal of the game.

KEVIN

1-0. pic.twitter.com/DzSQiUKgQM

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 5, 2020

Fiala decided to double his pleasure and double his fun as he blasted his second goal of the game.

Make it for Kevin Fiala.@mnwild | #CHIvsMIN pic.twitter.com/iDHTVdMAJv

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) February 5, 2020

The third period was a desperate time and that called for the nuclear options. Colliton went to the line blender multiple times trying to jump-start the offense. The moves by Jeremy Colliton paid off as the Blackhawks finally got onto the score sheet. Adam Boqvist wired a shot from the blue line to cut the lead in half.

Adam Boqvist scores his third goal of the season and #Blackhawks are finally on the board. pic.twitter.com/0PNKlPV29H

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 5, 2020

The effort level for the Blackhawks changed in the third period. After being dormant for two periods, the team rose their level of play and brought energy into a hostile environment.  The equalizer came from an unlikely scorer.

No angle. No problem.

We're TIED with 3 to play!

: NBCSN
: https://t.co/hswnWrynNY pic.twitter.com/ypGWX1KkNI

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) February 5, 2020

After three periods, the Blackhawks and Wild went into overtime. The overtime period was filled with offensive chances for both teams. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks were once again burned by a costly defensive turnover. Erik Gustafsson committed a criminal turnover that resulted in the Matt Dumba game-winner. It was too little too late for the Blackhawks as they fell to the Wild.

The Blackhawks will return to the United Center tomorrow night to take on the Boston Bruins. The game begins at 7 p.m. CST and will be on NBCSN.

The post Along The Boards: The Blackhawks Fail to Show up In Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks were lucky to not be down a couple of goals at the start of this game. Robin Lehner stopped a few prime scoring chances from directly in front of the net within the first five minutes of the opening period.

Chicago actually turned it on and had a few decent shifts in the offensive zone. The second line of Alexander Nylander, Dylan Strome, and Patrick Kane pressured the Wild defense. Kane came away with the puck and converted on his second attempt, although the goal needed video review to prove it actually went in the net.

https://twitter.com/juliananikac/status/1206369123405426688

Kane scored again on the power play, and this time the puck clearly went in the net past Kaapo Kahkonen (not to be confused with Kaapo Kakko) to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. But the Wild quickly drew a penalty of their own and Eric Staal sniped a shot right by Lehner on the power play to collect the 1,000th point of his career.

Congrats on 1,000 points, Eric Staal! pic.twitter.com/ykuZ1HG1LL

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) December 16, 2019

In the second period, Kane’s pass in the offensive zone was blocked by Zach Parise and Kevin Fiala found himself on a partial breakaway. Fiala lifted a shot by Lehner’s shoulder to tie the game at two.

However, that tie disappeared halfway through the period when Connor Murphy‘s original shot was deflected by David Kampf to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. And again, another lead for Chicago disappeared when Fiala’s attempt at a pass went off Olli Maata‘s skate and in the net.

The third period was mostly boring, until the Blackhawks capitalized after a good shift with established pressure in their offensive zone. Once again, Murphy’s shot from the blue line was deflected through multiple players in front of the Wild’s net. Brandon Saad was credited with the game-winning goal to give Chicago a 4-3 lead.

Not sure who scored this one…but the #Blackhawks have a 4-3 lead pic.twitter.com/xo6JnbdMwE

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) December 16, 2019

While the Wild pressured as the end of the game neared, the Blackhawks kept fighting for possession with the net empty and hard work by Jonathan Toews led to Patrick Kane’s empty-net goal. That goal secured the sixth hat trick of Kane’s career and the Blackhawks’ first win in the last five games.

Around The Boards

The Hawks looked decent: After four purely brutal games, the Blackhawks put together a much better effort tonight. They defended better and they were way better on the forecheck. There weren’t as many defensive breakdowns that we’re accustomed to seeing each night. Overall, this was a decent game by Chicago.

Erik Gustafsson was…good?: Most Blackhawks fans harp on Erik Gustafsson, and rightfully so. But he had a great game tonight. He had multiple scoring chances, eight shot attempts, and was only on the ice for one high-danger chance against. Gustafsson also made some notable defensive plays, including a great stick check to break up Kevin Fiala’s breakaway in the first period.

Stop giving up multi-goal leads: As Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times noted on Twitter, the Blackhawks have blown four multi-goal leads in the last seven games. That’s just not acceptable. They’re not good enough to be able to sit back and relax with any sort of lead. It’s obviously just one problem out of many this team has, but it’s a crazy stat that should be pointed out.

The Blackhawks will face off against the Colorado Avalanche at home for Wednesday Night Hockey. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks snap four-game skid, defeat Wild 5-3 appeared first on The Rink.