Blackhawks Postgame
Blackhawks Blow Two Third-Period Leads, Fall 4-3 in OT To Extend Losing Streak
For the second straight game, the Chicago Blackhawks went toe-to-toe with a red-hot Central Division foe, only to have their losing streak extended. The Blackhawks were unable to hold leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in the third period and lost 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild in overtime at the United Center on Wednesday. They’ve now lost four consecutive games for the first time this season.
“I thought there were times [earlier in] the year where we did a good job of either coming back, or winning those close games,” head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. “We went through a stretch where we did a really good job of it. Now, we’ve given up a couple of leads here in the last few games. I’m glad we’re in that spot, but part of the learning process is to find a way to make sure there’s no way to lose that game. We played too good to lose it.”
Once again, the Blackhawks outplayed their opponent for most of the contest but struggled to get the finished product. While they did get the puck past Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson three times, it easily could have been more. Both Connor Bedard and Artyom Levshunov hit the post twice, while Chicago led 37-24 in shots on goal. Like Scott Wedgewood on Sunday for the Colorado Avalanche, Gustavsson stood on his head to give Minnesota the chance to claw its way back into the contest.
The Blackhawks deserved better than what they got on Wednesday, but that’s the nature of the beast in the NHL. The home team was well in control for the opening 39 minutes of the game, only to allow a costly goal in the final moments of the second period, swinging the momentum in favor of the visitors for the first time. Minnesota capitalized and had its best charge in the third, and the Hawks didn’t do enough to maintain their two leads.
“I thought we played a pretty good game, but just little mistakes that we’ll clean up,” Bedard said. “Overall, I thought there were a lot of positives to take away. But in the end, obviously you’ve got to come out with the two [points].”
In overtime, the Blackhawks also had another questionable call that led to the game-winning goal against them. After Erikssok-Ek crunched Bedard in the neutral zone, Ilya Mikheyev immediately leveled the Wild forward as a little bit of payback. However, the officials deemed that Mikheyev interfered with Eriksson-Ek, despite the puck sitting right near his skates. Similar to last Thursday against Seattle, it was a contentious call to make with the game in the balance. Kirill Kaprizov potted the overtime winner on the ensuing power play to give the Wild the 4-3 win.
Blashill wasn’t too thrilled that another crucial call fed into the outcome.
“Did they change the rule? I don’t know,” Blashill said. “It’s a reactionary call that I think, if I was to climb into Furman’s mind, is that he thought Mikheyev just went over and hit [Eriksson Ek] because he hit Connor. But the reality is, right before Eriksson-Ek got hit, he had the puck. It’s not interference.”
Here’s a recap and the highlights from the 4-3 overtime loss to the Wild, which drops the Blackhawks to 10-8-5 through 23 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
The Blackhawks came roaring out of the gates on Wednesday, with their first two scoring chances coming almost immediately following puck drop. After Mikheyev did some excellent work on the forecheck to force a turnover, Wyatt Kaiser had two quality looks to open the scoring early.
Kaiser was active in the offensive zone early for Chicago, leading the team with five shot attempts, four shots on goal, and three individual scoring chances in the period. He also drew a penalty and added one takeaway. The Blackhawks led 17-3 in shot attempts, 14-1 in shots on goal, and 12-2 in scoring chances with Kaiser on the ice at even strength.
As the Blackhawks continued to fire pucks on net, Gustavsson kept having the answer in between the pipes for the visitors. Jason Dickinson had a prime-time chance to put his team ahead from the slot, but the Wild netminder just got enough of the shot.
Kaiser’s defensive partner, Levshunov, was also engaged in the offensive zone in the first period. His best chance came with just over two minutes remaining, as his shot from the point rang off the post.
Thanks to Gustavsson, the Wild came out of the period tied with the Blackhawks at 0-0. The Hawks led 28-9 in shot attempts, 18-4 in shots on goal, 16-5 in scoring chances, 10-3 in high-danger chances, and 2.04 – 0.61 in expected goals for at even strength. Despite lacking the finished product, it was one of their best periods of the season.
SECOND PERIOD
After dominating play in the opening 20 minutes on Sunday, the Blackhawks allowed Colorado to manhandle them in the second stanza and find their footing. They didn’t let that happen again versus Minnesota, as they kept their foot on the pedal to begin the middle frame on Wednesday.
With a 22-5 lead in shots on goal, finally, the Blackhawks found a way to beat Gustavsson. It took a little help from Yakov Trenin, as he made a dreadful turnover to set up Dickinson for a one-timer from the most dangerous area on the ice. It was Dickinson’s second goal of the year and first since returning from injury. That one HAD to feel good.
With a lackluster start, Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton tried to get his team going by dropping the gloves with Colton Dach near the midway point of the game. The two heavyweights delivered a quick and uneventful scrap, as there weren’t many punches thrown by either side. Middleton did land the takedown.
The Blackhawks ended up being the ones to gain some steam from the fight, doubling their lead with the prettiest goal of the season. Bedard entered the offensive zone and dropped a pass to Bertuzzi, who shipped the puck over to Sam Rinzel at the left circle. Rinzel made a quick pass back over to Bedard at the right post, and the superstar put home his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-0. That was marvelous.
On their third power-play opportunity of the game, the Wild nearly cut into their deficit on a redirect by Kaprizov from in tight. The puck actually crossed the goal line partially, but didn’t fully cross.
The Blackhawks’ third line was excellent in the opening 40 minutes, and they nearly created their second goal of the game late in the period. This time, it was Dickinson who forced a turnover on the forecheck and set up Mikheyev for a chance in front.
The third line of Mikheyev, Dickinson, and Ryan Donato led 14-4 in shot attempts, 8-1 in shots on goal, 7-2 in scoring chances, and 5-0 in high-danger chances through 40 minutes on Wednesday. They were dominant on both sides of the puck.
The real turning point of the night came with under 20 seconds to play in the second. The Blackhawks were unable to take a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the third period, as Brock Faber’s shot from the point deflected off Bertuzzi’s skate and found its way past Spencer Knight. Suddenly, it was only a one-goal game.
While the late goal was frustrating and allowed Minnesota to get back into the game, it was still a much-improved second period from the Blackhawks compared to Sunday, and compared to most of the season. The home team led 45-22 in shot attempts, 24-11 in shots on goal, 26-8 in scoring chances, 15-5 in high-danger chances, and 3.66-1.18 in expected goals for after 40 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
Just moments after the Blackhawks killed off an early penalty to begin the third period, the Wild converted at even strength to tie the game 2-2. Nico Sturm deflected Jonas Brodin’s shot from the blue line to level the score in the blink of an eye. All the hard work by Chicago in the first two periods was gone just like that.
But the Blackhawks didn’t fold after surrendering the game-tying goal, and they responded right back to regain the lead. Levshunov, who’s been knocking on the door for his first NHL goal in recent weeks, finally got his moment to put his team back ahead 3-2. His mother and sister were both in attendance to watch it happen. Heck of a pass from Bedard, by the way.
Sadly, the lead wouldn’t last too long for Chicago, as the Wild came back with another scrappy goal from right out in front of Knight. Matt Boldy tied the game 3-3 after Knight momentarily lost his crease while diving for a loose puck, which gave the former first-round pick a wide-open net to work with.
The second fight of the night was much better than the first. With under eight minutes to play in regulation, Trenin dropped the mitts with defenseman Connor Murphy in an exciting scrap. Trenin took exception to the hit Murphy laid on Eriksson-Ek along the boards, and the two went blow-for-blow for nearly a full minute.
After Middleton tripped Oliver Moore, the Blackhawks received a pivotal power-play chance with just over three minutes to play. During the man advantage, Bedard rang TWO shots off the post that would have given the Hawks a late lead. SO close. Chicago hit the post three times in the third period alone on Wednesday.
Minnesota successfully killed off Middleton’s penalty, and overtime was needed to determine the winner.
OVERTIME
Here’s the second controversial call to go against the Blackhawks in the past six days. Clearly, Eriksson-Ek had just played the puck right before Mikheyev delivered the check. There is no way that should have been an interference penalty, especially in overtime. While the Blackhawks did receive a power play late in the third period, Middleton was deserving of that call. It was the second time Moore was tripped in the final ten minutes of regulation. Mikheyev did not deserve to go to the sin bin.
Just 45 seconds into the 4-on-3 advantage for Minnesota, Kaprizov sniped the game-winning goal past Knight’s glove to send the Blackhawks to a fourth straight defeat.
On a night where the Blackhawks should have snapped their losing skid, it was even more frustrating with how it ended. The officials continue to be unkind to Chicago. But they weren’t
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.
Follow us on X:
