Two teams at opposite ends of the NHL standings meet on Friday afternoon when the Minnesota Wild host the Chicago Blackhawks in Saint Paul, Minn.
Both teams won Wednesday, albeit in vastly different fashion. The Wild won on the road for a league-leading 10th time this season by blanking Buffalo 1-0. Chicago, which had lost four of five games, got a much-needed win at home in a 6-2 rout of Dallas that featured a couple of key players ending lengthy droughts.
The Central Division matchup features second-place Minnesota, which has the league’s third-best record overall, against the Blackhawks, who are tied with division rival Nashville with the fewest points in the league.
Minnesota played, arguably, its best defensive game of the season Wednesday. Filip Gustavsson made 39 saves for his second shutout of the season and his teammates blocked 32 shots, one shy of the team record set 13 years ago against San Jose.
Wild coach John Hynes told reporters afterward that he likes the maturity his team is showing.
“I liked the fact that it was a tight game, and I thought that we continued to push for offense, even the third period,” Hynes said of his team, which registered 25 of its 29 shots after the first period. “We didn’t just check the whole game. I thought when we had to defend hard, we did, but I also thought we pushed.”
Kirill Kaprizov continued his campaign for the Hart Trophy by scoring the game’s lone goal in the first period. The 2021 Calder Trophy winner is now tied for second in the NHL with 35 points.
Chicago’s victory came thanks in large part to a turn-back-the-clock game for Taylor Hall. The 33-year-old went into the Dallas game with just two goals and six points in 20 games, but he finished it with his first hat trick in nearly 11 years. The 2018 Hart Trophy winner is the sixth player in league history to go 10 years or longer between three-goal games.
Hall’s breakout game came less than two weeks after Chicago coach Luke Richardson made the veteran a healthy scratch in a game versus Nashville. The move stunned the left wing, yet both said they were on the same page after discussing the benching.
After Wednesday’s win, Richardson raved to reporters about a play Hall made midway through the third period — when Chicago led 6-1 — that prevented a Stars goal.
“I think that’s just as important as the others, and that’s the professional he is,” Richardson said. “He played a complete game. He wasn’t just happy with his three goals. He played hard for (goalie) Petr (Mrazek), backchecking hard and helping the defense out. That’s a good example for everybody.”
The mix of experienced players, like Hall and Teuvo Teravainen, with several youngsters, led by last year’s Calder winner Connor Bedard, has yet to pay dividends on the rebuilding club. Even after Wednesday’s outburst, Chicago is tied for 27th in the league, averaging just 2.5 goals per game.
Bedard also scored his fourth goal of the season, and first since Oct. 26, in the win.
Friday’s game is the second of four the teams will play this season. Chicago beat the Wild at home 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 10.
–Field Level Media