Donato’s Special Day, Bad Second Period Erupts in Blackhawks Loss to Wild

The Chicago Blackhawks faced the Minnesota Wild for the second time this season. The last time they faced the Wild at home, it was a memorable win. Considering the Wild are the third-best team in the NHL, getting another win against them, especially with Chicago coming off their best win of the season against the Dallas Stars on Thanksgiving Eve, would have been a statement for them, but it didn’t turn out that way. Here are 4 thoughts from the Blackhawks’ 3-2 loss against the Wild.

1. Ryan Donato’s Special Game

Today was a special game for Ryan Donato. I saw online that Donato wore the tie of his late friend and NHL player Colby Cave to the game. Colby’s wife, Emily, shared on her Instagram story.

Donato scored two goals against the Wild. He still leads the Blackhawks in goals with 10.

The special thing about this is that there was another story from January 2022, when Donato was a member of the Seattle Kraken. Donato wore one of Cave’s ties to the game and scored to help the Kraken beat the Blackhawks (ironically).

Emily Cave even responded to my tweet, sharing the story behind the ties:

One of the most special decisions I made after Colb died was gifting some of his ties, watches, hats, and shoes to former teammates and friends so they can wear them for him. 👼🏼💙🪽 https://t.co/SeO0mJcD3o

— Emily Cave (@emilyljcave) November 29, 2024

Stories like this in hockey are so special and a privilege to be able to share.

2. The Blackhawks’ Bad 17 Seconds

I mentioned in the last takeaways from the Blackhawks’ win against the Stars that 17 seconds is a good omen for the Blackhawks. Two goals in 17 seconds won them the Stanley Cup in 2013, and Taylor Hall scored a goal 17 seconds against the Stars, which helped propel them to win 6-2.

It was a bad omen against the Wild. The Wild scored two goals in 17 seconds, erasing the Blackhawks’ 2-0 lead in the second period. The Wild also added another to make it 3-2. It was a second period to forget.

3. Blackhawks Strike First Again

The Blackhawks are on five straight games of scoring the first goal of the game. Usually, slow starts are a continual issue for them, so to see them on this first-goal streak is good to see. They’re 2-3-1 in that span. They have been getting faster starts in their last two games, scoring goals in 17 seconds against the Stars and two goals in the first two minutes against the Stars. But as usual, they have trouble with consistency and haven’t been able to always build off of early leads.

They had their chances. Alec Martinez hit the post, Craig Smith had a breakaway, and Wyatt Kaiser had a good chance. Even Connor Bedard looked good again with an assist, but they couldn’t finish it off.

Today was another example, as they had the early lead and lost.

4. Connor Murphy’s Unlucky 700th Game

Connor Murphy was not having a good time in this game. The Wild’s tying goal went off his skate, which is always a fluky instance when that happens. Then, he got called for a debatable tripping penalty in the third period. Luckily, the Blackhawks killed off the penalty, but he was a minus-2 on the day.

He played in his 700th career NHL game, and obviously, wishing the circumstances turned out differently in this one.

For more Blackhawks News from Jim Lynch and Brooke LoFurno, visit Chicago Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

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