The Blackhawks faced off against the Minnesota Wild for the first time this preseason in their second tilt of the warm-up slate. With Connor Bedard showing exactly why he was the number one overall pick in Thursday night’s game, fans in Chicago weren’t able to see what he was able to do in game two, as the game was not shown on local TV, and he wasn’t in the lineup either.
The Blackhawks mixed it up a bit in game two, icing this lineup that was vastly different from game one, as happens often in the preseason:
see who’s lacing ’em up tonight ⛸️ pic.twitter.com/c199N1ge53
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 30, 2023
The Blackhawks went with a youngin’ heavy roster tonight, looking to see more of the younger guys in-game action to see who might be valuable to keep up with the big squad this year.
The Blackhawks would open the scoring with MacKenzie Entwistle snapping a wrister past Filip Gustavsson just over a minute into the game.
this is what we meant by “MACKERRRRRR” pic.twitter.com/4Yh3388VrE
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 30, 2023
The Wild got plenty of shots on Arvid Soderblom, who made some good stops to keep the game close, but the Wild would get to him twice in the first period, giving the Wild a 2–1 lead by the end of the period. Ryan O’Rourke blasted a shot from just outside the circle past Soderblom with just over twelve minutes gone in the period, with Adam Beckman putting another shot past at the 18:30 mark.
The second period was fairly uneventful from a scoring perspective. Cole Guttman had a great shift with right around seven minutes left in the frame. He rang the post twice, coming so close to tying the game up for the Blackhawks, but couldn’t quite get it done.
Guttman draws iron two (2) times in one shift 🥲
keep on buzzin’ bud! pic.twitter.com/9MvIHwIxcK
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 1, 2023
A scary situation unfolded in the game as well, when Samuel Savoie went careening into the boards awkwardly after trying to regain the puck along the side wall. He was clearly in significant pain and had to be stretchered off of the ice, so we will see if he is able to make a return this season, or if the injury proves more significant.
It would take until almost all the way through the third period for the Blackhawks to tie it up. Tyler Johnson potted his first of the preseason, cleaning up a rebound off of a Taylor Raddysh shot to tie things up at 2–2, and a little over a minute later, the game would head to overtime.
The Wild ended things quickly, with Connor Dewar putting a wrister past Soderblom from the left circle twenty-one seconds into overtime, with the Wild taking the win 3–2.
Analysis:
For a team that iced a bunch of young guys who hadn’t played against this kind of competition before, the Blackhawks managed to hold their own, not allowing a ton of great scoring chances, and getting a bunch on their own, making the most of their lower shot total. Anders Bjork, Colton Dach, and Guttman were flying all over the ice, showing speed and agility that this Blackhawks team now has in spades. Kevin Korchinski looks like he will be a solid, NHL-capable defenseman, though that remains to be seen if he will start the season in Chicago.
The Blackhawks’ next game is tomorrow in Detroit against the Red Wings. That game will be on TV, and will start at 6:00 CDT.