Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 29th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Two rival teams in opposite positions in the NHL standings will face off on Friday afternoon as the Minnesota Wild welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Both teams were victorious on Wednesday, although their wins were achieved in very different ways. The Wild, who have the most road wins in the league this season, shut out the Buffalo Sabres 1-0. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks, who had lost four of their last five games, dominated the Dallas Stars 6-2, with some key players breaking their scoring droughts.
This Central Division matchup will see the second-place Wild, who have the third-best record in the league, take on the Blackhawks, who are tied with the Nashville Predators for the fewest points in the league.
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Minnesota put on a strong defensive performance on Wednesday, with goaltender Filip Gustavsson making 39 saves for his second shutout of the season and his teammates blocking 32 shots. Head coach John Hynes praised his team's maturity after the game.
"I was impressed with how we played a tight game and continued to push for offense, even in the third period," Hynes said. "We didn't just focus on defense the whole game. When we needed to defend, we did, but we also pushed forward."
Kirill Kaprizov, who won the Calder Trophy last season, scored the only goal of the game in the first period for the Wild. He is now tied for second in the league with 35 points and is making a strong case for the Hart Trophy.
Chicago's win was largely thanks to a standout performance from Taylor Hall. The 33-year-old, who had only scored two goals and six points in 20 games prior to Wednesday, recorded his first hat trick in almost 11 years. He is now one of only six players in NHL history to have a gap of 10 years or more between three-goal games.
Hall's breakout game came less than two weeks after being benched by head coach Luke Richardson in a game against Nashville. The two have since discussed the decision, and Richardson praised Hall's professionalism after Wednesday's win.
Despite the strong performances from experienced players like Hall and Teuvo Teravainen, as well as young talent like last year's Calder winner Connor Bedard, the Blackhawks have struggled this season and currently sit tied for 27th in the league in goals per game with an average of 2.5.
Bedard, who scored his fourth goal of the season and first since October 26th in Wednesday's game, will look to continue his scoring streak against the Wild on Friday.
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This will be the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, with Chicago winning the first game 2-1 in overtime on November 10th.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild Recap NOV 29TH 2024
Jared Spurgeon celebrated his 35th birthday in style, scoring twice to help the Minnesota Wild rally past the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday in St. Paul.
The Wild captain, who played just 16 games last season due to back and hip injuries, scored for the first time since April 2023 and notched the eighth multi-goal game in his 15-year career.
Trailing 2-0 midway through the second period, the Wild made some changes to their lines, and the shake-up led to two goals in a 17-second span.
Marco Rossi cut Chicago's lead in half after Marcus Johansson found him cutting to the net. Kirill Kaprizov, who played in his 300th NHL game, set up the goal with a spinning pass across the attacking zone to Johansson.
Seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Spurgeon tied when he knocked the puck into the crease, and it deflected into the net off Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy's skate with 9:11 left in the second.
Seven minutes later, Spurgeon gave Minnesota its first lead of the game when he skated across center ice and shot the puck after entering the attack zone. Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek got his glove on the puck, but it still trickled past him into the net.
Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists for the Wild. Kaprizov, Johansson, Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno also recorded assists for Minnesota, which won for the second straight game.
Former Wild center Ryan Donato scored both goals for the Blackhawks, including a power-play tally in the second period. It was the second two-goal game of the season for Chicago's leading goal scorer, who has 10 in 21 games after never recording more than 16 in his previous eight seasons.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Alex Vlasic and Connor Bedard earned assists for the Blackhawks.
Marc-Andre Fleury got the start in net for the Wild, who will host Nashville on Saturday night. The veteran goalie, who turned 40 on Thursday, made 20 saves to win for the fifth time in six starts.
Mrazek made 26 saves for Chicago, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.