Sam Rinzel battles with former Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno during the Blackhawks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)
The Chicago Blackhawks came into Tuesday night’s action against the Minnesota Wild having dropped their previous game to the Vegas Golden Knights. They did not look good in that contest, getting dominated by Vegas for the entire game and definitely looking like they have a lot of young players who are still very much learning. The only lineup change of note versus the Wild would be Matt Grzelcyk coming out of the lineup with Wyatt Kaiser going in his stead.
First period
The Wild struck first in this game. Six minutes in, they won a draw in the offensive zone. Kirill Kaprizov from behind the net got it to Ryan Hartman in front, who buried his chance to make it 1-0 Minnesota. Just 1:41 later, the Wild would strike again. The puck ping-ponged around on a shot from Jonas Brodin at the point. It found a wide-open Marcus Johansson, who could not miss the gaping cage to make it 2-0. Under three minutes later, the Blackhawks would get one back. Louis Crevier skated the puck into the zone and put a slapshot on net. It beat Filip Gustavsson to make it 2-1 Wild.
slapshot ✅
102 mph✅
Big Lou✅ pic.twitter.com/mtBGeUaxjU
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026
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Unfortunately, the Wild would not be done yet. They got a power play with 3:29 remaining on an Andrew Mangiapane cross-check. On that power play opportunity, they would convert, with Vladimir Tarasenko getting the goal, 3-1 Minnesota. The period would end with the Wild on top big.
Second period
It took a while in the second for either team to get something going. The Blackhawks would be the ones to get a goal, with Crevier being involved again. He put a shot on net that could not be handled by Gustavsson. On the rebound, the puck found its way to Ryan Greene, who put the puck home to make it 3-2 Minnesota.
things that just make sense: a Greener goal on March 17th 🍀 pic.twitter.com/d69fZgg3zL
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026
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The second period would end with the Blackhawks down by just one goal.
Third period
The third period had the Blackhawks dominating play for much of it. There were minutes where they kept the puck in the offensive zone and the Wild could do nothing about it. They kept up the relentless pressure until a couple of minutes remaining in the game. The Wild had a bad turnover, with Artyom Levshunov taking the puck at the Blackhawks’ blue line. He got the puck up to Connor Bedard, who went flying into the Wild zone in a 2-on-1. He found Frank Nazar in front, who buried his chance to knot things up at 3-3.
Frank called OT🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZQnC9EGnHt
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2026
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That would send this game to overtime, a result that did not look like it would happen after the first period.
Overtime
After making the Wild completely gassed throughout the third period, they returned the favor in overtime. After keeping the Blackhawks on the ice for an incredibly long shift, Mats Zuccarello found himself wide open just above the circles. He buried the feed from Johansson, giving the Wild the 4-3 victory.
Analysis
This game showcased the Blackhawks’ ability to fight back in games. Coming back from two down to force overtime late is not something every team can do, and not something the Blackhawks of the last couple of years would have done either. Continuing to put pressure on like they were able to do in the third is great to see, too, as it shows that they are not backing down in close games without a fight. The fact that it is all the young guys contributing shows that this team should very much have a bright future ahead. It just takes patience and grit to get there.
The Blackhawks will be back up against these same Wild on Thursday night. That game will be at 6:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN+ and Hulu.
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