Wild 3, Blackhawks 0 – Recap

By Kevin Schroeder
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Updated: February 4, 2015

The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota was the site for the fourth meeting of the season between the Blackhawks and the Wild. The first three games of the season series were all won by the Blackhawks. Early on, there was a lot of back-and-forth action with both teams getting chances, but neither team turning them into goals. The first goal of the game would come just over seven-and-a-half minutes in, when a scramble in front of Corey Crawford ended with Mikko Koivu finding the puck and getting it past Crawford to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. The Wild would expand the lead to 2-0 a little under two-and-a-half minutes later when Jason Zucker beat Crawford on a breakaway. After the second Wild goal, the Hawks stepped up their effort and controlled the action for the rest of the period, but weren’t able to get anything past Devan Dubnyk and went into the first intermission down 2-0.

The Hawks got out to a slow start in the second period and things only got worse when Marian Hossa was sent off for slashing. Just over halfway through the Hossa penalty, Oduya joined Hossa in the penalty box, giving the Wild a 2-man advantage. The Hawks penalty kill did a great job here, though, killing off both penalties and limiting Minnesota to one shot in the process. After both penalties were over, the momentum stayed with the Wild as they turned in a great shift, but a few great saves from Crawford kept it a two-goal game.

The Blackhawks would get their first power play 11:45 into the period when Mikko Koivu was sent off for tripping Patrick Kane. The Hawks weren’t able to get anything going, but the Wild did, getting a couple good chances down a man. A couple brilliant saves by Crawford denied the Wild a short-handed goal, but the Wild would get one at even strength about thirty seconds after the Hawks power play ended when Mikael Granlund scored his fifth goal of the year.

The Hawks would get another power play at 17:41 into the period, but they weren’t able to generate any momentum from it, as Andrew Shaw, who would surely lead the league in stupid penalties, were it an official stat, took one of said penalties just over 20 seconds later, and we would see 4-on-4 hockey. Neither team scored during the 4-on-4 action, nor would they score during the remainder of the period, Minnesota power play time, and we would go into the second intermission with the Wild up 3-0.

The third period began with a few seconds of power play time remaining for the Wild, which was quickly killed off. The Hawks got out to a better start than they did in either of the two previous periods, but the Wild kept the pressure on and kept the Hawks from really getting anything going. We would go to 4-on-4 hockey 7:40 into the third period when Jonathan Toews and Jason Zucker were sent off for coincidental minors. The Hawks would get better chances during the 4-on-4 play, but at the end of it, the score was the same as when it began. The Wild would continue to keep the Blackhawks from getting anything going for the rest of the game, and would come away with a 3-0 win.

This was really not a good effort by Chicago tonight. The Wild kept the pressure on all game, and the Hawks just didn’t have an answer. They looked a step slow all night, and their passing and defense was mediocre.

It’s still early in his tenure in Minnesota, but the Wild appear to have found their goalie in Devan Dubnyk. If he can continue playing at the level he’s played at since arriving in Minnesota, I see no reason why the Wild could not contend for the Stanley Cup , even without Matt Cooke.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Jason Zucker, LW, MIN (1 G)

★★ Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN (24 SV, 0 GA)

★ Mikko Koivu, C, MIN (1 G (GWG), 1 A)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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