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Wild Tame Blackhawks 4-2: Bedard Hits 30 Assists, Nazar Scores Again

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net
By Steve Kwiatkowski | Last updated Jan 27, 2025 4:05 PM ET

The Minnesota Wild visited the United Center looking to end a small losing streak. They got what they wanted: a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. If you're like me, you might be feeling frustrated. Sure, it's awesome to see our future pieces do things. Connor Bedard hit 30 assists and Frank Nazar scored again, and that's five points in four games, mind you.

But man, losing is for the birds.

You can stick your nose up in the air and tell me to be patient. It's a rebuild. And believe me, I get it. I've been on board with this thing since Kyle Davidson said it'd be like clawing your eyeballs out.

Ok. Maybe he didn't say that, but it sure feels like it.

Scoring Summary

First Period

MIN 1 - CHI 0: Ethan Del Mastro gave the puck away to Marco Rossi (MIN23) which led to a 4-on-2 rush for the Wild. Matt Boldy (MIN12) would feed Jared Spurgeon (MIN46) the puck in the slot for the first goal of the game.

This wouldn't be the last time a Blackhawks rookie defenseman made a costly mistake. And I would much rather have these mistakes than T.J. Brodie taking a dump on the ice.

MIN 2 - CHI 0: After some time spent in the defensive zone, Nolan Allan turned the puck over on a failed breakout attempt. This led to the Blackhawks' tired defense spread out and eventually a goal for the Wild. But dude, Mrazek, come on, man.

Second Period

MIN 3 - CHI 0: Joel Eriksson Ek scored on the powerplay to put the Wild up 3-0. A comfortable lead. This goal was the result of a double minor from Nick Foligno. It's a bit weak to give him unsportsmanlike for that. But nice acting.

Can't stop laughing. What a hilarious unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for Nick Foligno. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/K6KB353AVX
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 27, 2025

Third Period

MIN 3 - CHI 1 : Seth Jones scored a powerplay goal from the high slot after receiving a pass from Connor Bedard. Bedard's assist made it 30 on the season.

Seth Jones scores the #Blackhawks first goal of the night. pic.twitter.com/urqCBKEb8H
— Four Feathers Podcast (@FourFeathersPod) January 27, 2025

MIN 3 - CHI 2 : Frank Nazar made an excellent pass to Ethan Del Mastro on a 4-on-4 entry. Del Mastro carried the puck into the slot, took a shot, and Nazar was there to collect the rebound and score. He has five points in his last five games.

MIN 4 - CHI 2 : Marcus Foligno sealed Chicgao's fate with an empty net goal.

Thoughts

I was surprised that the Blackhawks had the larger share of shot attempts in the first period. They had a 51.43 Corsi at five-on-five in that period. The expected goals share (xG%) makes more sense, though; the Hawks had a 24.1 xG%. The Blackhawks would finish the game with a 51.35 Corsi, having more shot attempts than the Wild in each period. But they finished with a 35.19 xG% as the Wild did an excellent job of protecting their slot. And I present you "Exhibit A" below, a heat map.

The only period that Blackhawks had better shot quality was the second period, they had a 57.47 xG%.
The Hawks made a couple of bad turnovers and had a meh performance from Petr Mrazek. An .889 SV% isn't awesome, but that second goal in the first period was one that he could have stopped.
Del Mastro's drive to the net before Nazar's goal was beautiful. Other than some defensive goof-ups, Del Mastro looked solid.
Connor Bedard finished with one shot on goal and five shot attempts at five-on-five.
Seth Jones had a good game. Jones scored a goal, had a 55.56 Corsi (five-on-five), and had six shots on goal and 11 shot attempts at all-strengths.

The Blackhawks head down south to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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