Game Recap: Wild 4 - Blackhawks 3 (SO)
Recapping the Blackhawks 4-3 SO loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Chicago Blackhawks were one power play goal away from putting this game to bed. The Hawks had five opportunities to do it—including in overtime—and failed. A three-goal lead was squandered and eventually erased as the Minnesota Wild took the Hawks to the shootout.
There's a few talking points, then goals.
Teuvo-Bedard-Nazar
I finally got my wish with Teuvo Teravainen playing on the same line with Connor Bedard. While I don't think Frank Nazar on this line is a long-term solution, this was a needed change to get the offense going. And going it did.
first shift back? make it a goal 🫡 pic.twitter.com/DImXSG3Idt
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 28, 2026
This line did most (if not all) of the heavy lifting in the offensive zone. They had a 72.73% 5v5 shot attempt share (Corsi) and a 74.85% expected goals share (xG%). They outshot their opponent 11-3 and scored that first goal on their first shift by crashing the net. It's a safe bet that we see this trio again in Thursday night's game.
Bedard floats a perfect sauce to Nazar who chips it on net pic.twitter.com/abvVrwgitq
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 28, 2026
Everyone Else
The issue with moving Frank Nazar up on the first line with Bedard and Teuvo is that there isn't any scoring ability anywhere else in the lineup. Granted, Ryan Donato scored because of sloppiness on Minnesota's part. But the other lines struggled to generate meaningful offense.
Ryan Greene's line with Oliver Moore and Andre Burakovsky finished with decent metrics (50% Corsi and 65.61 xG% at 5v5), but I attribute this more to the Hawks' defensive work than offense.
The Blackhawks' defense did a solid job of playing man-on-man most of the night. They weren't perfect, but I do want to highlight Alex Vlasic. He had a solid night. Vlasic made excellent outlet passes, and Ilya Mikheyev's goal doesn't happen without Vlasic.
another one, 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘒 𝘠𝘖𝘜 🛎️ pic.twitter.com/UCs2HVGzbz
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 28, 2026
The Blackhawks had a 56.67% Corsi and a 73.46 xG% when Vlasic was on the ice.
The numbers say one thing, but my eyes told me a different story. The Hawks finished the night with a 54.67% Corsi and a 62.6 xG% at 5v5. Only one line wasn't above 50% in both metrics, and that was the fourth line (Slaggert-Foligno-Donato with 6:33 minutes of 5v5).
I noticed in the third period that the Hawks were conceding the blue line a bit too much. I wouldn't say they were turtling (the metrics point that they weren't), but it was pretty damn close.
The Power Play
Chicago failed to convert five power plays into a goal. That includes a power play in OT, which actually had some good looks. Their 5v4 PP (which excludes the OT power play) generated six shots on goal and four high danger scoring chances.
Where the Hawks struggle is with their entries and getting set up.
The power play relies on the drop pass to get going on the entry. Most NHL teams use some form of a drop pass, and it's especially effective when a team has fast players (like the Hawks). The defenseman carries the puck while a forward (or forwards) swings below, builds up speed, and receives a drop pass to enter the zone.
Where the Hawks mess this up is when the only player with momentum is the forward who just received the puck. No one else is moving, they're just waiting at the blue line for things to kind of... happen.
0:00
And when they do get set up, they haven't been able to generate meaningful chances. The first powerplay actually featured decent OZ time. But there was a lot of passing until Levshunov took a point shot right at the goalie. A low percentage shot. It wasn't a shot meant to turn into a rebound. It was a low-effort flub.
I'm a little concerned about Levshunov. I get that he's young. I get that defensemen take a long time to develop (even though this is a new era, and comparing anyone to Duncan Keith's development route is a bit of a stretch). But I hold Levshunov to a higher standard as the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.
Goals
I've linked the Hawks' three goals above, so I'll focus on the three the Wild scored.
Goal 1 (Yakov Trenin)
Trenin beats Knight with a perfect shot pic.twitter.com/VbwwZ9nUeB
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 28, 2026
Andre Burakovsky's pass to the point bounced beyond Matt Grzelcyk. This created a 2-on-1 with Connor Murphy defending the rush. It's hard to tell, but I'm giving Burakovsky the benefit of the doubt. It looks like the defender got a stick on Burakovsky, or this was a horrible pass.
Goal 2 (Joel Eriksson Ek)
Insane play by Hughes to get the puck to the net and create a rebound goal for Eriksson-Ek pic.twitter.com/xsLeb3apWi
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 28, 2026
Quinn Hughes displays some pretty skating mechanics and gets a shot on goal for a rebound. Joel Eriksson Ek is there to collect.
Goal 3 (Jared Spurgeon)
Spurgeon ties it late pic.twitter.com/OW1JbWLTJm
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 28, 2026
I would've liked to see Bedard take away the pass from his guy and the defense to do a better job of clearing the net on this one.
That's it for now. No SITREP today. This will be it for Hawks-related stuff. Chicago visits the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow at 6 pm CT. Looking to have a SITREP with a preview inside tomorrow.