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 Defenseman Marco Scandella scored his first goal of the season
with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, lifting the
Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Blackhawks on
Thursday.
The Wild (17-8-5) also got goals from left wingers Matt Cooke and
Zach Parise and defenseman Jonas Brodin to beat Chicago at home for
the first time this season
Chicago (20-6-4) trailed 2-0 late in the second, but rallied for a
3-2 lead on goals by left wingers Jeremy Morin and Brandon Saad, and
a power-play goal by right winger Marian Hossa. But like two nights
earlier when they dominated the Dallas Stars and lost 4-3, the
Blackhawks received little for their efforts.
"We had the momentum but it was one of those games where the
momentum turned quickly in their favor," said Blackhawks coach Joel
Quenneville. "We're still tied, let's get it to overtime and see
what happens, but they got the break and we got nothing."
Scandella's shot from the blue line made its way through a crowd in
front of the net, giving Minnesota an improbable win. Blackhawks
goalie Corey Crawford finished with 19 saves.
"It feels great," said Scandella, who hadn't scored since Feb. 1 of
last season. "It just shows that we were relentless tonight. We beat
a really good Chicago team and we never gave up."
Cooke got his second goal in the past three games less than five
minutes into the game, taking a pass from center Torrey Mitchell and
snapping off a shot that fooled Crawford.
A short time later Chicago had a golden opportunity to tie the game,
but was thwarted by Wild goalie Josh Harding. A long lead pass from
right winger Kris Versteeg sprung left winger Patrick Sharp on a
breakaway from center ice. Sharp made a deke move to the forehand
and shot, but Harding's left pad stopped the puck on the goal line
to preserve the Wild lead.
With Sharp in the penalty box for a hooking infraction, Minnesota
doubled its lead late in the second period. Parise, who had just one
goal in his previous eight games, swatted home the rebound of a shot
by right winger Jason Pominville, which hit left winger Dany Heatley
in the chest before falling to the ice in front of Crawford.
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"You're not going to play perfect against that
team," said Wild coach Mike Yeo. "They've got a boatload of
skill, and they find ways to make plays, but I thought that we
did a really good job of limiting them, containing them, keeping
them to the outside for the most part."
Chicago answered in the final seconds of the middle
period, making it 2-1 via the work of two newcomers. Kane's shot
from the blue line was deflected by center Joakim Nordstrom and
right to the stick of Morin, who slid the puck over the goal line
while Harding scrambled to get in position. Morin and Nordstrom had
been called up from the Blackhawks AHL team in Rockford, Ill., on
Wednesday, joining the team in Minnesota.
It took the Blackhawks less than a minute to tie the game in the
third period when Saad stole a loose puck from Wild defenseman Ryan
Suter and launched a rocket that beat Harding high on the stick
side. Hossa's shot went to the same spot, giving the Blackhawks a
3-2 lead before Brodin scored on a power play to tie the game at 3.
"Penalty trouble cost us again. We couldn't find a way to kill those
two penalties off," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "We've got to
get in lanes when they shoot the puck from the point in the third
period. It's those little things. We could be talking a little
different about the game tonight if we'd have found a way to hold
onto that one-goal lead."
Harding finished with 16 saves for the Wild.
NOTES: Wild LW Matt Cooke's goal early in the first period on
Thursday broke a string of six consecutive games in which Minnesota
had been scoreless in the opening 20 minutes. ... Blackhawks C
Michal Handzus was scratched for the second consecutive game with an
undisclosed illness. Also absent from the Chicago lineup was C
Andrew Shaw, who missed his first game of the season after suffering
an upper-body injury late in the Blackhawks 4-3 loss to Dallas on
Tuesday. ... Wild G Josh Harding was named the NHL's Third Star of
the Month for November after posting an 8-2-2 record with a 1.88
goals-against-average and a .926 saves percentage. ... Blackhawks RW
Patrick Kane was the league's First Star of the Month. He posted a
career-best 12-game point streak in November. ... Both teams left
Minnesota immediately after the game. The Wild headed for Columbus,
where they will face the Blue Jackets for the first time this season
Friday night. Chicago headed for its home rink, where it will host
the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
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