In Chicago Wednesday night, the Blackhawks grabbed a 1-0 first period lead over the Minnesota Wild on a goal from Brent Seabrook.
The problem for the Hawks was that was all they would get in offense as the Wild scored once in the second and once in the third for a 2-1 win.
Ryan Suter picked up the game-winner at 3:03 of the third.
“They turned it over and [Jared Spurgeon] was up there with me, and I said, ‘If we wouldn’t have scored there, was going to yell at you again for jumping when I’m there,'” Suter said. “But he drove the net, Mikko made a good play, and just put it at the net.”
Devan Dubnyk rebounded from a drubbing over the weekend at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche; he made 34 saves to get the win.
“You gotta be ready for these games, especially in the [Central] Division,” Chicago’s Patrick Kanesaid. “They were coming off a game last night, we were coming off a game, so kind of even ground there. But it would have been nice getting two points.”
Minnesota improved to 23-17-4 with the win.
The Wild were not happy about the first period effort where they pushed on their heels as the Hawks had near complete control of the game.
“You saw the first period. I mean, when they get 41 attempts to our 11, and probably had the puck 15 minutes in our zone, it was embarrassing,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But, to their credit, I thought in the second and third period, they really buckled down and played really hard.”
Jonas Brodin struck in the middle frame to tie the game at 1-1.
The road win gives the Wild some momentum heading into a tough home match with the Winnipeg Jets.
“I think it’s great,” Boudreau said. “You’ve got a day off tomorrow and you’ve got the momentum. Hopefully that can carry us through at home this weekend.”
[WATCH:Â All Wild vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Anton Forsberg made 25 saves in taking the loss.
The loss dropped the Hawks to 21-16-6.
“Every point’s so huge and even though there’s whatever, 40 games left in the season, it’s so crucial at this time of year. And these points are going to add up at the end. Just got to move on and focus on Friday (against the Jets), and hopefully we can come out with a big two points,” Chicago’s Nick Schmaltz said after the game.
NOTE: Just before the game, the Blackhawks announced a trade with the Arizona Coyotes, sending  Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin to the desert and receiving much-maligned Anthony Duclair and Adam Clendening in return.
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