Terrible Second Period Costs Wild, Blackhawks Win 5-3

A miserable second period costs the Wild a win in front of 21,000+ at the United Center tonight. Despite tying the game with more than 10 minutes to play in the third period, Patrick Kane put the Blackhawks back in the lead and Ben Smith added an empty netter to seal the game.

Good morning, Wild fans. The Wild played quite well in the first and third period, bookending a second period that cost them the game. Brett Sutter, making his Wild debut, played really well.

The biggest surprise of the game came before the puck even dropped, as Niklas Backstrom got a surprise start in the crease for an ill Darcy Kuemper. More on that later. Be sure to check out Tyler’s game preview for more story lines and his bold, although generally accurate predictions.

First Period:

Kyle Brodziak had a great chance in the first few minutes that cleanly beat Antti Raanta but couldn’t beat the far post.

Shortly thereafter, Thomas Vanek set up Mikael Granlund for a quick wrist shot that didn’t quite have enough on it.

By midway through the third period, the Blackhawks outshot the Wild 8-2. All that changed when Vanek lit a fire under the Wild.

Vanek dumped in the puck from the blue line and Granlund went to work with Zach Parise to win a couple of board battles. Granlund then forced a Niklas Hjalmarsson turnover and fooled Raanta with a fake wraparound bid. With Rannta still committed to a wraparound, Granlund sent a perfect pass to Vanek who fired a lightning fast slap shot from the slot that beat Raanta’s blocker. 1-0 Wild at 12:49 of the first period. 

The Wild responded to the goal by equalizing the shot count and drawing a penalty to end the period. The power play actually fired off a few good chances rather than play hot potato with the puck. It didn’t click, and the Wild lost out on an opportunity to enter the locker room up 2-0

There were A LOT of icings in the first period. Both teams seemed to search for long outlet passes that never clicked.
Shots through one period: Minnesota Wild 9, Chicago Blackhawks 9

Second Period:

For the first few minutes of the second, things looked promising for the Wild in the second period, but only for the first few minutes.

After Nate Prosser took a roughing penalty in the third minute, the Blackhawks took over with their high-flying offense. I was pretty let down that the Wild, who came out strong in the first period, collected their respective blankets and took a nap on the ice. The Wild forgot that they were playing the Chicago Blackhawks, a squad that takes advantage of mistakes.

First, Justin Fontaine took an elbow to the head. As he went to the bench, the Hawks had all day to set up. Brent Seabrook seized the opportunity to fire a gigantic slap shot from the top of the right face-off circle that beat Backstrom through a Brad Richards screen. 1-1 tie at 8:10 of the second period.

Brett Sutter drew a penalty, sending the Wild to the power play with a chance to regain the lead. It went nowhere, but it was nice to see the Hawks take notice of Sutter’s hustle.

Next, Marian Hossa re-directed a Johnathan Toews centering pass that squeaked through Backstrom’s 5-hole. Hossa’s shot was sneaky, too; I barely noticed it until the horn blew. 2-1 Blackhawks at 12:19 of the second period. 

At this point, the Blackhawks had held the Wild without a shot on goal for 7 minutes. I thought the rout was on at this point, honestly.

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To cap off a 3-goal second period for the Hawks, Toews slammed home a Ben Smith rebound after Toews created the play by picking Christian Folin’s pocket in the offensive zone. 3-1 Blackhawks at 16:21 of the second period.

Finally, the Wild responded with 7 shots to close the period. They allowed 21, the most the Wild have allowed in a single period. You may recall the season opener when the Colorado Avalanche only put 16 shots on goal the whole game. My how things can change.

Shots through two periods: Minnesota Wild 17, Chicago Blackhawks 30

Third Period:

I thought the Wild responded well, even drawing a power play in the first minute. It didn’t click, but the Wild set up camp and seemingly never left the offensive zone. They must have missed it in the second period.

Throughout the game, The Wild kept looking for long outlet passes to spring breakaway bids. It resulted in a lot of icing calls. It finally paid off for Nino Niederreiter in the third. On a clear breakaway, Niederreiter managed to get a shot off while being tripped by Hossa. He earned a penalty shot and converted with a beautiful top-shelf backhander to make it 3-2 Blackhawks at 07:13 of the third period.

Next, Marco Scandella, fresh off his suspension, tied the game with a wicked slapper from the right face-off circle. Folin earned the assist and Jason Zucker set up a gorgeous screen. 3-3 tie at 10:03 of the third period.

Erik Haula took an absolutely silly penalty in the 15th minute. It was a one-handed hook that occurred after play had stopped. Silly penalty, truly, but what matters is this: Patrick Kane gave the Hawks the lead on the man advantage. With a quick shot that bounced off of Jonas Brodin’s skate, it was suddenly 4-3 Hawks at 16:32 of the third period. 

The Wild played admirably with an empty net, but Ben Smith added an empty net goal at 19:41 to seal the game 5-3 Blackhawks.

Trembley’s Take:

Blame this loss on the Haula penalty if you want, but it wasn’t that. The Wild played really well in the first and third periods but gave up in the middle frame. There was no tenacity to their game and it cost them. Backstrom shouldn’t have to face 21 shots in 20 minutes, that’s just insane.

Niederreiter played well tonight, but only got 2:34 of ice time following his penalty shot. The leading goal scorer on the Wild earned minimal time in the final 13 minutes of a game that was basically decided by one goal. I understand the Wild are on back-to-back games, but come on. Makes no sense.

Darcy Kuemper has come down with some kind of illness that sounds more like the Flu than mumps. Turns out Backstrom had the same thing but played through it. John Curry didn’t play the third period of tonight’s Iowa Wild game, leading me to believe he’ll start against Boston at the X tonight. That’s a bit disconcerting.

Lastly, the Wild have alternated wins and losses for 12 straight games. They haven’t won back-to-back games since November 15th. That’s a problem for a team with playoff aspirations.

Talk to you tonight, Wild fans.