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Wait On The Sons Of No One: Wild 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Still the most fun I’ve had watching a Thanksgiving Eve game since the arrival of Marian Hossa.

Posted on by Eric Gegenheimer
Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

The Blackhawks started strong, faded late, then lost 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Wild.

After a dominant first period, the Blackhawks were finally able to beat Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavvson at 5:41 into the second period when a bad turnover by the Wild bounced to Jason Dickinson in the slot, and he fired it five hole:

The Hawks doubled up their lead seven minutes later thanks to a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing exchange between Tyler Bertuzzi, Sam Rinzel, and Connor Bedard:

Bedard and Bertuzzi appeared to strike again two minutes later, but Minnesota challenged the goal and Bertuzzi was ruled offside:

The Wild caught a fortunate bounce with just 13 seconds left in the second when a Brock Faber point shot redirected off Bertuzzi and fluttered by Spencer Knight to make it 2-1:

Two minutes into the third period — and right after the Blackhawks successfully killed off a Minnesota power play — the Wild’s fourth line tied the game 2-2- on a double deflection:

But the tie didn’t last for long as three minutes later Bedard circled through the Wild zone then found a streaking Artyom Levshunov who scored his first NHL goal on a nifty backhand move to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead:

With 9:25 left in the third, Matt Boldy was all alone in front of a wide open net and had plenty of time to slam the puck past a sprawling Knight to tie the game at three:

Sixty minutes wasn’t enough, but after the Wild were gifted a power play early in overtime, Kirill Kaprizov beat Knight over the shoulder for the 4-3 Minnesota win:

Notes

The first period felt like a repeat of Sunday’s game against the Avs with the Blackhawks controlling the majority of the action and having a plethora of blue chip chances, but ultimately walking away without a goal thanks to some exceptional goaltending by Gustavsson. The Hawks put 20 shots on goal in the first, which is not only the most they’ve had in the opening period this season (and the most the Wild have allowed in a single period this season), but also the most shots they’ve accumulated in the first 20 since all the way back in 2018.

The Hawks dominated the metrics, carrying 75.68 percent share of the possession, 76.19 percent of the shots, creating 10 high-danger chances to Minnesota’s three, and earning 76.98 percent of expected goals.

Bedard’s puck possession in particular was outstanding, and he almost added another play to his ever expanding highlight reel with this no look feed to Ilya Mikheyev:

And Levshunov came within an inch or so of his first goal:

Despite the Blackhawks scoring three times in the second (but only getting to keep two), possession was essentially even. Minnesota did outshoot the Hawks 7-6, but the Hawks had more scoring chances (9-3), more high-danger chances (4-2), and carried 70.5 percent of the expected goals.

The Wild’s late goal certainly felt like a bit of luck, but they probably earned some after this Kaprizov shot somehow didn’t cross the line:

Minnesota had a slight edge in shots in the third period (9-8), but completely dominated in terms of possession, scoring chances (8-2), high-danger chances (6-1), and expected goals (83.99 percent). It was obvious there was going to be a push after their late goal in the second, but it was nice to see the Hawks remain aggressive offensively, even though they were overwhelmed for long stretches of play.

This was Levshunov’s best game of the season, and he was certainly feeling it tonight. He almost scored again a few minutes after his first goal:

And this feels like a perfect summation of the Levshunov experience:

The Wild are on some kind of heater at the moment (and against the Hawks the last few years as well). Minnesota is 9-0-1 in their last ten games overall, and have gotten at least a point against the Blackhawks in their last 17 meetings, with a record of 16-0-1 (for real). The first Hawks goal ended the Wild’s shutout streak at 151:47, and Chicago’s second marked the first time Minnesota had been down by two goals in a game in the entire month of November. SPOILER ALERT: None of it will matter after the Wild lose in the first round of the playoffs for the 4,987th consecutive time next spring.

This was Bedard’s 10th multipoint game of the season already.

This is a game the Blackhawks absolutely should have won, and it’s evident that for as surprising as this team has been so far, they still have a looooong way to go. The good news is it’s been fun as hell watching them try and get there this season, and there’s no reason to think it won’t be just as enjoyable from here on out. The pass from Rinzel. The backhand from Levshunov. Bedard’s game long bob and weave attack. There’s a lot to dream on, folks.

I had friends and family over tonight, and we were all watching and yelling the entire game. It’s been a minute since that’s happened, and I’m very thankful for it. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Matt Boldy – 1 goal, 2 assists
  2. Connor Bedard — 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Kirill Kaprizov – GWG

What’s Next

The Blackhawks home stand continues on Black Friday with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Nashville Predators.

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