The Chicago Blackhawks have gotten the better of the Minnesota Wild in the playoffs, but as far as the regular season goes, it was actually quite the opposite.
Minnesota had won the teams’ last eight regular season meetings, with Chicago going 0-7-1 during that span. The Blackhawks didn’t have an easy time holding off the Wild on Wednesday, either, but Jonathan Toews’ 4-3 OT winner ended up clinching it.
The Wild did get a “charity point” out of this one, so let’s look at where the teams sit after Wednesday:
Minnesota: 76 points in 53 games
Chicago: 71 points in 55 games
Speaking of points, Toews’ OT goal (and three-point night) helped him climb the franchise’s scoring rankings.
A goal and two assists tonight. That's 597 career points for @JonathanToews.
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 9, 2017
That surpasses Jeremy Roenick for 9th in team history! pic.twitter.com/B6Vn5mjQrU
Some Blackhawks fans might grumble about the Wild even grabbing a point. Zach Parise’s 2-2 goal required a lengthy, divisive (and amusing?) review and Eric Staal paved the way for Minnesota’s 3-3 tally with what might qualify as interference:
Staal collision at the blue line that helped Scandella enter the zone on the tying goal pic.twitter.com/fAm5jnPeWL
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 9, 2017
You could tell this game meant quite a bit to both teams, as the pace was frenetic and a lot of the action was exciting. The Blackhawks and Wild combined for 70 shots on goal during this clash between the Central Division’s top two teams.
Chicago is now on a three-game winning streak, going 3-1-0 to begin a six-game road trip in an impressive fashion. The Wild have an opportunity to fatten its lead over Chicago and the rest of the Central Division as they still have seven games remaining on this eight-game homestand.
For more on what lies ahead for these two teams, check out this rundown of their schedules.