CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks (5-9-1 entering) have been struggling lately. Because of that fact, the Minnesota Wild presented a high-level challenge on Sunday night. They entered as one of the hottest teams in the league (8-2-0 in their last ten games, 10-2-2 overall).
Whether it was a bit of fatigue on the Wild’s part or the Hawks playing over their heads, the game was pretty even early. Chicago took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Jason Dickinson.
Dickinson showed incredible patience and a great shot with his goal. Despite not getting an assist on the play, Teuvo Teravainen played a big role as he forced the turnover past the backboard, which led to the puck finding Dickinson.
There were times when it looked like the Wild had no legs, but they continued to find opportunities here and there. Petr Mrazek stayed upright when asked to make a big save. At the other end of the ice, beyond Dickinson’s perfect shot, Filip Gustavsson was also sensational.
Gustavsson kept his team in it enough to gain a ranking point. Kirill Kaprizov found the puck right in front of Petr Mrazek and made a subtle pass to Matt Boldy, who didn’t miss with his big wrist shot.
The match was now tied and eventually led to extra time. After trading a few chances, Taylor Hall forced a turnover that sent the Hawks in the right direction. Seth Jones made a nice pass to Philipp Kurashev, who pushed him up the ice.
With Jones controlling the net, Kurashev took a perfect shot and beat Gustavsson for the overtime winner. The Hawks recorded their second home win of the season and first since Opening Night.
Jason Dickinson not only scored a beautiful goal for the Hawks, but he was also incredible on the defensive side of the puck. The work he did against Kirill Kaprizov was as solid as you can expect from a two-way center.
Kaprizov came into this match as one of the hottest players in the league and Dickinson largely shut him down. Kaprizov got the only assist from his great little pass to Boldy, but that was his only way to determine the final score.
He tends to do a lot more damage, but the Hawks contained him and that’s all you can hope to do against such a good player.
However, no player on the team deserves more praise than Petr Mrazek. The Hawks played well for the first forty minutes, but deteriorated significantly in the third period.
19 of Minnesota’s 33 shots came during the final frame. Mrazek stopped them all but one. He has been a major force this year. To say he has been great on an underwhelming defensive team would be an understatement.
Now the Hawks have a few days off for a road trip to the Pacific Northwest. They take on the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, which will be a nice little challenge for them as they try to build on this win.
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