Bedard's Breakaway Backhander Snaps Six-Year Losing Streak Against Wild as Blackhawks Win 2-1

Game Summary

It took over six years, 19 games, and an absurd amount of heartbreak — but the Blackhawks finally beat the Minnesota Wild. Connor Bedard scored on a breakaway, Ilya Mikheyev opened the scoring, and Spencer Knight was sensational in a 2-1 win Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena. Alex Vlasic punctuated it with a game-saving stick sweep in the dying seconds after a Quinn Hughes shot trickled behind Knight. The Blackhawks improve to 26-30-12.

Chicago hadn't beaten Minnesota since December 15, 2019. The Wild had gone 18-0-1 in the 19 games since, the longest active point streak against a single opponent in the NHL. That streak is dead. And it died in large part because of the two best players on this roster — Bedard and Knight — doing exactly what you need from your franchise cornerstones.

Andrew Mangiapane found Mikheyev at the top of the crease for an easy tap-in at 16:22 of the first to give Chicago the lead. Then at 11:47 of the second, Marcus Johansson turned the puck over in the offensive zone and Bedard pounced — intercepting the pass at the Wild blue line, skating the length of the ice while holding off Johansson, and lifting a backhander past Jesper Wallstedt's blocker. It was his 28th goal of the season and his 12th career game-winning goal, passing Jonathan Toews and Bobby Hull for the most by a Blackhawks player age 20 or younger.

Nico Sturm got Minnesota on the board at 15:47 of the second with a wrist shot from the left circle that fluttered through Knight's pads. Hunter Haight picked up the primary assist — his first NHL point in his sixth career game. The Wild pushed hard in the third, including a 5-on-3 power play where Matt Boldy and Vladimir Tarasenko each hit the left post, but Knight and the penalty kill held firm. Then came the final sequence: Wallstedt pulled for the extra attacker, Hughes' shot getting past Knight, and the 6-foot-6 Vlasic reaching his stick into the crease to tuck the puck under his goalie before a Wild player could jam it home. Ballgame.

Three Stars

The New-Look Roster

This was the kind of game that shows what this group can become. Two days after blowing a 3-1 deficit and losing in overtime to these same Wild, the Blackhawks went into St. Paul and got a gritty, disciplined road win against a team fighting for playoff positioning. Minnesota was missing Kirill Kaprizov (lower-body, day to day), but this is still a roster loaded with talent — Quinn Hughes logged over 28 minutes, Tarasenko and Boldy were dangerous all night, and the Wild had a 5-on-3 chance in the third. Chicago weathered all of it.

Knight was the story in net. His .966 save percentage tells you plenty, but the moments inside that number tell you more — he was tracking pucks cleanly all night, stayed patient on Minnesota's cycle game in the third period, and the penalty kill behind him was outstanding when it mattered most. On that 5-on-3, Boldy hit the post. Tarasenko hit the post. Knight didn't flinch. Then Vlasic's buzzer-beating sweep finished what Knight started. As Knight put it afterward: "It's a privilege to be in those close games."

Bedard continues to be the engine. His breakaway goal — puck stolen at the blue line, coast-to-coast, backhander to the blocker side — was the kind of sequence that reminds you why this franchise is being rebuilt around him. He led the team with 6 shots and 23:54 of ice time. The game-winning goal milestone is the cherry on top: 12 career GWGs before turning 21, more than Toews, more than Bobby Hull. That's not a projection. That's already real.

It was a physical, chippy game — 18 penalty minutes per side, multiple roughing sequences, and the third period got ugly late with matching minors piling up. Ryan Hartman was a menace all night, taking three penalties including an interference call on Bedard and roughing on Kaiser. Wyatt Kaiser, for his part, didn't back down — he answered with roughing of his own and had a solid two-way game with 18:07 of ice time. The Blackhawks were out-hit 23-10 but absorbed the punishment and stayed in their structure. That maturity wasn't there earlier this season.

Looking Ahead

Chicago hosts the Colorado Avalanche on Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN — a quick turnaround against the best team in the Central Division. Colorado sits at 98 points and has been rolling all season. It's a tall order on the back end of a road trip, but the Blackhawks have won three of their last five and are playing with a confidence that didn't exist a month ago. At 26-30-12 and 64 points, they're still last in the Central with around 14 games left. The draft lottery math remains favorable, but this team isn't mailing it in — and nights like Thursday in St. Paul are exactly why.