CHICAGO — These aren't the same Blackhawks that were still a handful in the afterglow of the dynasty years that yielded three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015.
Wild erupts for 5-1 victory to open home-and-home series with Chicago
In their first reunion in almost two years, both franchises' new directions were on display as the Wild routed its rebuilding rival at United Center for its fourth win in the past five games.
January 22, 2022 at 5:28AM
But the Wild is a different team, too.
In their first matchup in almost two years, both franchises' new directions were on display as the Wild routed its rebuilding rival 5-1 on Friday in front of 17,921 at United Center for the team's fourth win in the past five games.
The rematch is Saturday in St. Paul.
"We played a good hockey game," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "Tomorrow we have to play a better one."
Despite dealing with a stomach bug, Ryan Hartman scored twice and set a new career high in points while goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen made 35 saves in another impressive start in place of injured No. 1 Cam Talbot.
Rookie Calen Addison also had a standout performance, registering the first multi-point game of his career and making a case to stay in the lineup with captain Jared Spurgeon on the brink of returning from injury.
"He's looked good," Evason said of Addison. "He's looked confident. It's going to be a hard decision, but I guess it's a positive one to have."
Addison set up the Wild's first goal just 2 minutes, 58 seconds into the first period, finding Marcus Foligno with a backhand pass that Foligno buried for his 15th goal and Addison's first career assist.
The rest of the period was a highlight reel for Hartman.
A former Blackhawk who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, Hartman had a one-timer hit the crossbar and bank off the back of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's right arm before falling into the net at 4:07 for his first goal and point in his seventh game against his former team.
Then, with 2:48 to go in the first, Hartman tallied his second goal of the night — this time a shot from the right side that slipped through Fleury.
Not only was that Hartman's team-leading 18th goal, one shy of tying his career high from 2016-17 with Chicago, but he also eclipsed his previous record for points in a season by reaching 32. This was his fourth career multi-goal game and first with the Wild.
"It was nice to get out to an early lead, something we haven't done much this season," said Hartman, who anticipates playing Saturday. "But we're gonna try to continue to build off that."
Hartman's linemates Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello assisted on each of Hartman's goals, and both have multiple points in three straight games. Zuccarello is on a seven-game point streak that's tied for the longest of his career.
Addison's second career goal, a slapshot through traffic 12:05 into the second, chased Fleury from the game. He exited after surrendering four goals on 13 shots and was replaced by Kevin Lankinen, who totaled 16 saves in relief.
Before the second period ended, Lankinen was beaten by a Brandon Duhaime backdoor shot at 16:26 set up by Kevin Fiala, who pushed his season-long point streak to seven games.
None of the Wild's goals came on the power play (0-for-2).
As for the Blackhawks, they went 0-for-3 and didn't spoil Kahkonen's shutout bid until 5:03 was left in the game on a shot from Dylan Strome that came as Kahkonen toe-picked in the crease and lost his footing.
"It's better that it happens in a 5-0 game with a couple minutes left so it doesn't ruin the whole game," he said.
Nevertheless, Kahkonen is 4-0-1 since taking over for Talbot and 8-1-2 over his past 12 appearances.
And he'll get a chance to go for a sweep on Saturday, with Evason announcing after the game that Kahkonen will be back in net when the series shifts to Xcel Energy Center.
"It's great to be able to get the job done and have the guys trust in me and me trusting them," Kahkonen said. "That's the best thing about playing a team sport, to play and win as a team."
The Wild prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night, moving back into first place in the NHL with a hard-fought victory in their first trip to Utah. Matt Boldy scored the winner in the shootout.
