Analysis
Hawks Hits: Silver Linings; Bedard & Nazar Click; Defense Remains Sound
Tuesday’s Central Division showdown against the Minnesota Wild started so promisingly for the Chicago Blackhawks, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 26 minutes. Connor Bedard was buzzing early, the new-look top line was dangerous seemingly every time they hit the ice, and the defense was pressuring the Wild into turnovers constantly.
The Blackhawks appeared to be on the way to their first victory in Minnesota since 2019, only for the night to end in disaster. Three unanswered goals from the Wild, including one with the extra attacker on the ice late in the third period, tied the game 3-3 and forced overtime.
There were plenty of chances late in the third and during overtime for Chicago to avoid a gut-wrenching defeat, but they couldn’t put the game away. For the second time in as many meetings with Minnesota this season, Kirill Kaprizov capped off the comeback with the game-winner, scoring the lone shootout goal to lift the Wild to a 4-3 victory on Tuesday.
While it’s completely unacceptable to come out of Grand Casino Arena with only one point, considering how dominant their start was, the Blackhawks weren’t too discouraged by what transpired in the latter stages of the game. Head coach Jeff Blashill took plenty of positives from how his group played against one of the NHL’s top teams.
“When you take emotion out of it, and obviously, we’re frustrated, the chances [we had] were 23-14, us. You’re going to win that game 98 percent of the time. We just didn’t win it tonight. I thought that’s the best we’ve played in a while, to be honest.”
Blashill isn’t wrong, as the Blackhawks put together their best effort in weeks. They were the better team for most of the night, and even though the Wild tied the score with two goals in the third, the stats and analytics from the period favored the visitors.
Blashill and the Hawks aren’t into moral victories or silver linings, but there were plenty of encouraging signs from Tuesday’s performance, despite the outcome not going their way.
Let’s break down some of the positives from the painful 4-3 shootout loss in Minnesota.
Hawks Hits
1. Top Line Thrives — For the first time this season, Blashill loaded up the top line with his two best playmakers. Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, who haven’t spent very much time together at even strength as professionals, were lined up with one another on Tuesday, and Teuvo Teravainen joined them in his first game back from injury. On their opening shift, Teravainen scored a gritty goal to give the Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead, and the trio remained effective for the rest of the night.
Nazar’s speed and passing skills seemed to work wonderfully along with Bedard, who wasn’t required to do as much of the heavy lifting because of his linemate’s abilities. Bedard responded by having his best game since returning from injury, leading the team with 11 shot attempts, 10 individual scoring chances, eight shots on goal, and four individual high-danger chances in 23:49 of ice time. He also had the primary assist on Teravainen’s goal, snapping a mini three-game point drought. Bedard looked much more like himself again in Minnesota.
Teravainen’s early tally was the only time the top line found the back of the net, but the Wild were fortunate that it was the case. Bedard had several point-blank looks himself that goaltender Jesper Wallstedt miraculously stopped, while Nazar and Teravainen also each had plenty of chances. In 11:46 together at even strength, the top line led 16-6 in shot attempts, 11-3 in shots on goal, 9-3 in scoring chances, and 6-1 in high-danger chances. The three forwards were responsible for 14 of Chicago’s 32 shots on goal in the game.
2. Mighty Mikheyev — It’s been another impactful season for Ilya Mikheyev in Chicago, so much so that he could be receiving a contract extension from the Blackhawks before this year’s trade deadline rolls around. The 31-year-old winger has been a massive reason why the Blackhawks have the NHL’s best penalty kill, as he effectively uses his speed and an active stick to cause havoc on opposing power plays. The PK is now 31-for-33 in 14 games during 2026 after killing off their lone penalty on Tuesday.
Not only has Mikheyev continued to provide phenomenal defense in the New Year, but he’s also been chipping in much more regularly offensively. After scoring his 10th goal of the season at 5:54 of the second period, Mikheyev has now recorded a point in four of his last five outings. In 13 games this month, he’s scored four goals and added five assists for nine points.
Mikheyev is getting the job done on both sides of the ice right now, and it’s impressive how he’s finding ways to shut down opposing top lines while simultaneously putting up points.
3. Defense Deserved Better — The Blackhawks couldn’t hold onto their two-goal advantage in the third period, but it didn’t feel like they had a meltdown in the latter stages by any means. After all, the Wild were credited with only six shots and eight scoring chances in the stanza, but two greasy goals suddenly had the game tied 3-3.
In 65 minutes of action, Minnesota generated just eight high-danger scoring chances and 23 shots on net. It was another effective game from the Blackhawks’ defense, and they deserved a better result for their effort. Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic, in particular, were exceptional once again, each finishing with a plus-two rating. Chicago led 5-0 in scoring chances with Vlasic and Crevier on the ice together at even strength.
4. Bottom Six Chips In — Getting enough run support has been an issue for the Blackhawks lately, and it was nice to see three of the four forward lines find the back of the net on Tuesday. Joining Teravainen and Mikheyev as the goal scorers in Minnesota was Ryan Donato, snapping an 11-game goal drought with his 11th tally of the season.
Donato hasn’t received quite the same opportunities as he did in 2024-25, when he played mostly on the top line alongside Bedard en route to his first 30-goal season in the NHL. This year, Donato has been kept down in the bottom six more times than not, but he’s still managed to have the third-most goals on the team.
The Blackhawks need more out of their veterans offensively right now. Hopefully, the contributions from the fourth line keep coming, and Donato goes on a productive run before the Olympic break.
5. Power Play Problems... — Perhaps the most frustrating part of Tuesday’s blown lead is that the Blackhawks, had they just converted on their late power plays, could have easily avoided disaster. Danila Yurov and Matt Boldy each committed penalties for the Wild in the final 12 minutes of regulation, while Boldy was called for a second infraction during overtime.
But much like the last seven games, the man advantage couldn’t come up with a clutch goal, and that handed the Wild more chances to tie and eventually win the game late, which, of course, they did.
The power play moved the puck more effectively on Tuesday, but it’s still all about getting the finished product. The Blackhawks fell short of that once again, and they are now in the midst of a 0-for-22 skid over their last eight games. They haven’t scored a power-play goal since Jan. 10.
To take down the toughest teams in the league, especially in their own building, special-teams play must be on point. The penalty kill held up its end of the bargain again, but the power play did not. Chicago went 0-for-5 in Minnesota.
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