ST. PAUL, Minn. — John Hynes had no qualms that the Chicago Blackhawks were more ready to start Tuesday night’s game than the Minnesota Wild.
But oftentimes in the NHL, it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.
After spotting the Blackhawks a three-goal lead, much to the chagrin of a fan base that hasn’t seen a lot of victories at Grand Casino Arena since Christmastime, the Wild methodically worked their way back into the contest. Thanks to three unanswered goals — the last being captain Jared Spurgeon’s overtime-forcing tally with 2:02 left in regulation — the Wild ultimately snatched that precious second point thanks to a huge three-on-four kill to end OT, then Kirill Kaprizov’s shootout-deciding goal and Jesper Wallstedt’s latest shootout heroics.
“What I really like is that we did not have a good start to the game, but it wasn’t that we just faded into the night,” Hynes said after the 4-3 win. “I really liked his composure and battle level throughout. I particularly like our group, our team’s response that we dug in when it wasn’t an easy night, but we found a way to win.”
It was the Wild’s first time overcoming a three-goal deficit for a win since Feb. 19, 2024, when they trailed 4-1 and 5-2 in the second period before defeating the Vancouver Canucks 10-7 on three-goal, three-assist performances by Joel Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov.
Tuesday, Eriksson Ek had another monster game by scoring a goal, assisting on Spurgeon’s equalizer and being a huge part of five successful penalty kills, including the one during the final 1:56 of OT along with mostly Brock Faber and Jake Middleton (season-high 24 minutes, three blocked shots).
“The message was we had a lot of time left,” Spurgeon said. “But we knew we needed to play better than the first period. (Wallstedt) made some big saves to keep us down just 2 there. But we knew we had better. To come back and stay with it and never feel out of it is really impressive.”
Yakov Trenin got the comeback started with a second-period goal. The NHL’s hits leader by a wide margin had another six to give him 267 for the season.
After a 12-0-2 run at home, the Wild won for only the second time in the past eight home games (2-3-3) as they went to their league-high 10th overtime since Dec. 23 and 21st overall (tied for first in the NHL). The Wild beat Chicago at home for the ninth consecutive meeting and improved to 17-0-1 in their past 18 against the Blackhawks.
Minnesota will close its four-game homestand Thursday night against the Calgary Flames.
Wallstedt settles down
It looked as if it was going to be another long night for Wallstedt when he allowed the first three goals. For a goalie in November who went 6-0 with a 1.14 goals-against average and .967 save percentage to be named rookie of the month, Wallstedt has allowed three or more goals in eight of his past nine starts.
But after allowing a goal to Ilya Mikheyev that he wanted to have back, Wallstedt was flawless the rest of the way. He finished with 29 saves, including 11 on five scoreless Chicago power plays, and wasn’t beaten in the shootout by Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard or Ryan Donato.
“I think it was the L.A. game (earlier this month) where I got a little stuck in the shootout,” Wallstedt said. “This time, I felt like I moved my feet better. I was trying to make (Bedard) make the move. I know I’m good when they try to deke or try to go sideways. All I was trying to do was just make him try to dangle the puck instead of shoot it, because I know he has an awesome shot. So I wanted to try to get him to make a move. And fortunate for me, the puck bounced and kind of trickled away. Which was lucky for me.”
What wasn’t lucky was the way he stuffed Donato for the victory to snap a three-game individual losing streak. Wallstedt earned the “Hero of the Game” Redwood hat.
THE WALL OF ST. PAUL GETS THE HAT pic.twitter.com/8VlL2wriLY
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 28, 2026
“I like to think that the harder you work, the more bounces you earn,” Wallstedt said. “But I felt good. Personally, there’s one that I should’ve saved, but the team had my back there and got us back. As soon as we have a 3-3 game, we’re right back in, and then all you see is the finish line. You just want to win that game.”
Eriksson Ek an ‘animal’
The Wild won this game because Wallstedt bounced back, of course, and their 5-for-5 penalty kill.
But Eriksson Ek’s fingerprints were all over this comeback.
The team’s shutdown center had a strong all-around performance, with a goal and an assist. And he was at his best in his office: the net front. Eriksson Ek outmuscled defenseman Wyatt Kaiser on his third-period rebound goal after Quinn Hughes’ elusive play before firing into traffic. Then Eriksson Ek helped create Spurgeon’s tying goal by dominating Kaiser in front and whacking at two rebound attempts, with the puck bouncing right to Spurgeon by the post.
“Just trying to find loose pucks,” Eriksson Ek said. “Having a defender with you and just trying to open up space or screen or get a rebound.”
Eriksson Ek went 12-for-29 from the faceoff circle (41 percent) but won some key ones down the stretch and in OT. He sparked the PK. But his net-front presence is one reason he’s so unique and irreplaceable.
“He’s an animal when he gets down there,” Hynes said. “He’s on the goalie. He’s pushing guys off. He’s there with an intent to get something done, whether that’s physicality, screen the goalie, get a rebound, tie someone up, and that’s what makes him so effective. Sometimes guys can go there, but they’re there and seeing what’s going on. When he comes in there, he arrives with an intent to get something done.”
Johansson Olympics-bound
There was no sugarcoating how disappointed Marcus Johansson was when he wasn’t originally selected for Sweden’s Olympic team for next month’s Milan Cortina Olympics.
That’s why Johansson, 35, and his teammates were so pumped to find out the veteran winger was added to the roster Tuesday as an injury replacement. Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin can’t play due to injuries, so Johansson and the Boston Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm were put on the team.
Johansson got the call Monday from Sweden coach Sam Hallam that he’ll appear in his second Olympics.
“You never wish for anyone to get hurt or anything bad to happen,” Johansson said. “But I’m gonna try and make the most of this opportunity, and I’m excited to go there and have a chance to compete for a gold medal, and I’m very honored. … It’s a childhood dream, and I’ve done it once before, but it’s different now when you have kids of your own and get to bring them over and be part of that.”
Johansson joins Eriksson Ek, Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson on Sweden’s roster.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Eriksson Ek said. “He deserved it, for sure, the way he’s played, how professional he’s been. If you watch him every day, you see his skill set. He’s a very, very good player. I’m just happy for him.”
Johansson has 13 goals and 22 assists in 49 games this season.
“I know that he played really, really well in the World Championships last year for Sweden, and obviously this year for us,” Hynes said. “And just to see how disappointed he was in that result. But as we talked about, we’ve said there’s a lot of hockey left, and probably the rosters that get named aren’t going to be the rosters that go, with the injuries. And he continued to play well for us and certainly earned a spot.”