Wild rally from three-goal deficit to beat Blackhawks in a shootout

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 27, 2026

Published in Hockey

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The rivalry between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks is still one-sided.

Chicago blew a three-goal lead to the Wild, who rallied 4-3 in a shootout Tuesday at Grand Casino Arena to push their point streak against their Central Division foe to 18 games.

Kirill Kaprizov scored the only goal in the a shootout to complete the Wild’s comeback after the Blackhawks blanked on a 4-on-3 power play in overtime.

The Wild penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5.

Captain Jared Spurgeon netted the tying goal with 2:01 to go in the third period, backhanding in a rebound at the side of the net after Joel Eriksson Ek scored earlier in the period. Yakov Trenin had the Wild’s first goal late in the second period after the Blackhawks ran away 3-0 thanks to Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev.

Wild rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt made 29 saves while snapping his three-game skid, and Chicago’s Spencer Knight stopped 20 shots.

The victory improved the Wild to 17-0-1 in their last 18 games vs. the Blackhawks, and they’re 11-0-1 during the past 12 meetings in St. Paul.

How it happened

With their moms along for the team’s road trip, the Blackhawks started strong, capitalizing only 1:19 into the first period when Teravainen whacked in a bouncing puck that got loose behind Wallstedt in the Wild crease.

Chicago doubled its lead with 4:46 to go in the period off a Wild turnover: Brock Faber’s no-look, between-the-legs clear flew by Danila Yurov and right to the former Wild forward Donato, who walked into a one-timer.

Then 5:54 into the second period, Mikheyev cashed in off the rush on a far-side shot by Wallstedt, who has given up at least three goals in his last four starts.

The Wild earned some momentum back when Trenin scored similarly, rushing into the Blackhawks’ zone and wiring the puck by Knight’s blocker at 12:33.

Kaprizov had a chance to move the Wild one goal closer during a 4-on-1 rush, but the winger’s attempt hit the side of the net.

Turning point

The Wild killed off a Chicago power play to begin the third period, and by 3:57 they trailed only 3-2 after Eriksson Ek got on the end of a Quinn Hughes shot that caromed off Marcus Johansson’s skate. Eriksson Ek’s goal was his second in as many games, and Hughes extended his point streak to six games.

Soon after, the Wild went on their first power play but couldn’t convert until Spurgeon’s late equalizer.

After Wallstedt made five stops in overtime, he denied Donato in the shootout after Frank Nazar went wide and Connor Bedard lost the handle. Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy were denied for the Wild.

Key stat

This was the Wild’s first three-goal comeback win since their 10-7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 19, 2024.

Up next

This homestand wraps up on Thursday against the Calgary Flames, who won the last game 4-1 in Calgary on Dec. 4 after the Wild shut out the Flames 2-0 on Nov. 9.

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