Connor Bedard scored the game-winner, Spencer Knight made 28 saves, and Alex Vlasic delivered a goal-saving play in the final seconds as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1 Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena — ending one of the most lopsided streaks in recent NHL history.
The victory snapped Minnesota’s 19-game point streak against Chicago, a run that dated back to February 4, 2020. The Wild had gone 18-0-1 in those 19 meetings. It was the Blackhawks’ first regulation road win in Minnesota since November 4, 2017, and their first regulation win over the Wild anywhere since December 15, 2019 — a drought that had become a defining source of frustration for a franchise already deep in a rebuild.
Just 48 hours earlier, Minnesota had beaten Chicago 4-3 in overtime at the United Center. The streak, it seemed, would never end. On Thursday night, it finally did.
How They Scored
The Blackhawks struck first late in the opening period. At 16:22, Ilya Mikheyev redirected Andrew Mangiapane’s backdoor pass past Jesper Wallstedt’s right pad from the top of the crease to make it 1-0. Chicago carried that lead into the first intermission.
The second period is where the game turned. Bedard made it 2-0 at 11:47 when Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson turned the puck over in the offensive zone. Bedard collected it, skated the full length of the ice while fending off Johansson, and lifted a backhander to the blocker side — a highlight-reel goal that gave Chicago the cushion it needed.
Minnesota got one back at 15:47 when Nico Sturm’s snap shot from the faceoff dot beat Knight — a goal that may have been deflected by Ryan Greene on its way through. Assists went to Hunter Haight and Brock Faber. Suddenly it was 2-1, and a game that had felt controlled tightened considerably heading into the third.
Bedard Makes History
Bedard’s goal was his 12th career game-winning goal, surpassing Jonathan Toews and Bobby Hull (11 each) for the most by a Blackhawks player age 20 or younger. It was also his 10th point in nine March games. On the season, he now has 65 points in 55 games — two away from matching his total from all of last season, in 27 fewer games.
Coach Jeff Blashill’s assessment after the game reflected the team’s measured approach to the moment.
“I would say, honestly, from our perspective, we really haven’t paid much attention to that,” Blashill said of the streak. “I’ve been part of those both ways in this League. And sometimes they go beyond the actual team, especially our team because we have so many young guys. But ultimately, I think we’ve played three pretty good games against Minnesota prior to this.”
The 5-on-3 That Nearly Broke Chicago
Whatever composure the Blackhawks had built began to feel fragile early in the third period. With 14:13 remaining in regulation, André Burakovsky took a penalty. Ryan Greene followed him to the box. For 1:35, Chicago was down two skaters against a Wild power play that smelled blood.
Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov — the team’s engine — was not in the building, announced as a late scratch and day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Still, the Wild generated enough on the 5-on-3 to tie the game: Matt Boldy hit the left post. Vladimir Tarasenko hit the same post. Knight stood firm.
Chicago survived the penalty kill and never surrendered the lead.
Vlasic Saves the Win in the Final Seconds
The drama was not over. In the game’s dying moments, Minnesota pulled Wallstedt for an extra attacker. Quinn Hughes fired a shot on net — Knight got a piece of it, but the puck trickled into the crease behind him. Before a Wild player could get to it, the 6-foot-6 Vlasic swept his stick across the crease and tucked the puck beneath his own goalie, sealing the win as time expired.
Without that play, the streak likely would have hit 20.
Finally Holding a 2-0 Lead
The Blackhawks entered Thursday having held a 2-0 lead in the first or second period of 12 games this season. They had lost seven of those 12. The pattern had been one of the season’s most maddening storylines — build an advantage, watch it disappear.
Thursday, they held it. The 5-on-3, the late push, the empty net scramble — none of it was enough. Chicago finally closed out a two-goal lead, and it came against the one opponent that had made them pay for blowing them most often.
Seven Defensemen, Real Flexibility
Blashill went with seven defensemen on Thursday, returning to a lineup construction he had used frequently in road games earlier this season. The approach gave him genuine flexibility to rotate his blue line, manage minutes on his younger defenders, and double-shift Bedard with different linemates throughout the night.
The standout among the defensemen was Artyom Levshunov, who has been playing some of his best hockey of the season over the past several weeks. Paired alongside Vlasic, Levshunov was physical and engaged all night, recording three hits and finishing plus-one — consistent with the kind of authoritative, two-way presence he has brought recently. The pairing of Levshunov and Vlasic gave Chicago a reliable shutdown option that they leaned on heavily in the third period when Minnesota was pressing.
The seven-defenseman setup also allowed Blashill to keep fresh legs on the ice through a game that featured multiple physical confrontations after the whistle — including a third-period brawl. Across the blue line as a unit, the young defensemen held up well, and that collective improvement has been one of the quieter but more encouraging developments of Chicago’s season. This was not a group that collapsed under pressure — they defended leads, blocked shots, and made critical plays when the game was on the line.
At 5-on-5, Chicago was credited with 21 scoring chances to Minnesota’s seven — a dominant territorial number that reflected exactly what Blashill’s defensive structure was designed to produce.
Knight’s Night
Knight finished with 28 saves on 29 shots — his best start since January 19. Minnesota’s shooting percentage was 3.4 percent on the night. While the 5-on-3 posts gave Knight some fortune, he was sharp and composed throughout, making critical saves when the game was on the line and keeping Chicago’s deficit management from ever unraveling.
Wild coach John Hynes had little to offer in the way of explanation afterward.
“We’re going through it a little bit,” Hynes said. “That’s something we got to continue to, we got to work out of it. I think that’s what the situation is. So that’s what we’ll do.”
By the Numbers
| Stat | Blackhawks | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 1 |
| Shots | 26 | 29 |
| Blocked Shots | 10 | 13 |
| Faceoff Win % | 46% | 54% |
| Power Plays | 0/3 | 0/3 |
| Hits | 10 | 23 |
| Giveaways | 12 | 15 |
| Takeaways | 4 | 4 |
What’s Next
The Blackhawks host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at the United Center.
KEEP READING:
Hawks Search For The Right Fit Beside Bedard
Blackhawks Future Outlook: Phase 2 of the Rebuild Begins
Looking for discussion? Check out our forums section and weigh in on what’s happening around the NHL!
You know I’m beginning to believe young inexperienced talent is far greater than experienced vets who continue to make the same mistakes.
I’m seeing with my own eyes, sure we need scoring but the way the kids work hard and play defense because they are quicker,
faster and more talented than the grizzly vets is refreshing to witness.
I used to go back and forth about rebuilds and I always felt no hockey team has ever completely committed to it until the Blackhawks have. We are in our 4th season and this team is on the verge of being really really good.
It was also really nice to see the young Blackhawks skating the puck out of the zone so many times at the end of the game, i think they only had 2 or 3 icings and one of 2 came with an open net.