Nov 7, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) chase after the puck during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Uneven efforts continue to baffle the Chicago Blackhawks.
Fortunately, the Minnesota Wild can’t relate to this.
Minnesota heads into its visit to Chicago on Sunday with five wins in six games, including back-to-back 5-2 victories in San Jose and Anaheim and two more goals. All of this has contributed to a 10-2-2 start, the best in club history in 14 games.
“Honestly, we’ve taken it game by game,” Minnesota forward Frederick Gaudreau said. “I think if you do that, you get results and you can get addicted to that feeling of just playing every day and not focusing too much on the future.”
Chicago returns home before a two-game trip to the West, facing questions about its consistency.
After seemingly turning a corner during a 3-2 road trip in October and November, the Blackhawks faltered on Wednesday and Thursday, losing 4-1 to visiting Detroit and then 3-1 at Dallas.
Chicago recorded just five shots on goal in the first period and trailed the Stars 2-0 before Tyler Bertuzzi got the team on the board with a power-play goal midway through the third.
“We weren’t ready to go tonight,” Bertuzzi said. “Obviously, we made an effort in the third inning, but it was too late. We needed to be ready to play the full 60 minutes tonight and we came up short.”
“We need to shoot more. Everyone. Whether it’s top defense or a forward getting into the end zone, we can’t keep trying to make pretty plays. We have to shoot and get rebounds.”
Reclaiming control of the puck would be a big help. Chicago won 16 of 56 face-offs in Dallas, with five of them coming from Philipp Kurashev.
“When you start without the puck, it’s tough,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We are pursuing the game with great intensity.”
Richardson is encouraged by the fact that Chicago has seemingly flipped the script on last season, when conversations about moral victories were commonplace in the locker room.
“We’re just going to take advantage of this situation and apply the intensity we had in the third period to the next game,” he said. “I’ve liked our character and our reaction after a game like this all year, so I expect that again from our players.”
The Blackhawks hope to stop Minnesota’s rage on the road. The Wild have seven road wins, the most in the NHL entering Saturday.
Kirill Kaprizov was the star of Minnesota’s latest road win, contributing two goals and an assist on Friday in Anaheim. He also recorded a three-point night in San Jose and leads Chicago to a streak of eight consecutive road games with more than one point.
“He’s the engine of our team. That’s the most important thing,” Marcus Foligno said. “We need our horses to be fit. He is our star player. When he is fit, the whole bench is fit.”
Gaudreau, who assisted on Foligno’s goal against the Ducks, has two goals and six assists during a career-best six-game point streak.
Minnesota swept Chicago in three games last season, beating the Blackhawks 10-2.
–Field level media
