NHL

Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks

· National Hockey League
Final
4 - 2

Jared Spurgeon scores as the Wild hold off the Blackhawks for a 4-2 win

Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Game Highlights

Matt Boldy had three assists for Minnesota in the opener of a five-game trip. The Wild had lost five of six.

Chicago was limited to five shots on goal before rallying in the third period. Seth Jones scored on a power play and Frank Nazar added his third of the season at 4:16, trimming Minnesota's lead to one.

But the Wild held on in the final minutes, and Marcus Foligno closed it out with an empty-netter with 1:42 left. Filip Gustavsson finished with 18 saves.

The Blackhawks dropped to 1-4-3 in their last eight games. They lost three of four in the season series against the Wild.

Minnesota jumped in front on Spurgeon's wrist shot from the high slot 5:43 into the first period. Gaudreau made it 2-0 when he beat Petr Mrazek on the goaltender's glove side from a tough angle at 7:17.

Eriksson Ek, who turns 28 on Wednesday, added a power-play goal on a slick redirection 10:45 into the second. He has nine goals on the season after he also scored during Saturday night's 5-4 loss to Calgary.

Takeaways Wild: There was a letdown at the beginning of the third, but they played solid defense down the stretch.

Blackhawks: The late rally wasn't enough to overcome a listless start. Mrazek finished with 24 saves.

Key moment Chicago had a power-play opportunity after Jakub Lauko was sent off for holding with 5:04 left, but Minnesota clogged the middle in front of Gustavsson and killed it off.

Key stat Spurgeon has scored four times against the Blackhawks this season. The captain has five goals overall.

Up Next Wild play at Toronto on Wednesday night, and Blackhawks open a three-game trip at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

Regular Season Series

MIN wins series 3-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 5:43 Jared Spurgeon Goal (5) Wrist Shot, assists: Matt Boldy (25), Marco Rossi (27)
Goal 1st Period 7:17 Frederick Gaudreau Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: Marcus Foligno (10)
Goal 2nd Period 10:45 Joel Eriksson Ek Goal (9) Tip-In, assists: Kirill Kaprizov (29), Matt Boldy (26)
Goal 3rd Period 0:56 Seth Jones Goal (5) Wrist Shot, assists: Connor Bedard (30), Tyler Bertuzzi (11)
Goal 3rd Period 4:16 Frank Nazar Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Ethan Del Mastro (1)
Goal 3rd Period 18:18 Marcus Foligno Goal (8) Wrist Shot, assists: Matt Boldy (27), Zach Bogosian (7)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/chi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHI
16 Blocked Shots 12
10 Hits 26
6 Takeaways 5
28 Shots 20
1 Power Play Goals 1
3 Power Play Opportunities 3
33.3 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
24 Faceoffs Won 33
42.1 Faceoff Win Percent 57.9
7 Giveaways 20
5 Total Penalties 5
10 Penalty Minutes 10

Game Information

United Center

Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 18,701 | Capacity:

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 39 14 81 3
Dallas 35 18 72 2
Minnesota 33 19 70 4
Colorado 33 22 68 2
Utah 24 23 57 9
St. Louis 25 26 55 5
Nashville 19 28 45 7
Chicago 17 31 41 7
Full Standings