The Chicago Blackhawks used a lot of what will be their regular-season lineup against the Minnesota Wild on Monday night at the United Center. The Wild, for the second straight game, dressed a group of mostly AHL players.
15 seconds into the game, the Wild scored a goal to make it 1-0. Bobby Brink redirected a shot past Spencer Knight to put the Blackhawks behind. It was a goal that can be blamed on a defensive zone turnover, but those things are going to happen early in the preseason.
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Eventually, the Blackhawks took a too many men on the ice penalty, which they had served by Nick Lardis. When Lardis exited the box following a good penalty kill, he stripped the puck from a Wild defender and earned himself a breakaway.
Early in the sequence, Lardis was tripped. It is unclear whether the ref was going to call a normal tripping penalty or a penalty shot, but it is a moot point because Lardis sniped home the tying goal.
During the off-season, it was known that Lardis worked on skating and strength. That was on display with the takeaway and the speed to find himself in alone. It isn’t crazy to think that he can flirt with 30 goals if he stays healthy.
In the second period, the Blackhawks gave themselves a 2-1 lead thanks to a goal scored by Bowen Byram. This is his first preseason game in a Chicago sweater, and he made a great first impression with his go-ahead goal.
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On the play, Sam Rinzel and Ryan Greene made a nice play to circle the puck around the offensive zone before finding Byram with a lane to the net.
With a 2-1 lead in the third period, the Blackhawks had a chance to close out their first win of the exhibition season. Results don’t truly matter when the games don’t count, but the NHL lineup came in expecting to beat the AHL version of the Wild.
Just 24 seconds into the third, Byram scored his second of the game to put the Blackhawks up 3-1. He was trying to make a backdoor pass to Roman Kantserov, but it deflected into the net off a Minnesota Wild defender.
Although Kantserov didn’t get the goal, he did collect an assist on the play. He moved the puck to Alex Vlasic, who found Byram before it ended up being a goal.
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At that point, it looked like the Blackhawks were going to walk out of the United Center with a preseason victory. But the Wild youngsters had other ideas.
Maxim Shabanov and Bobby Brink (his second of the game) added goals to tie the game tied back up at 3. It is too early to read into certain things, but the Blackhawks did have a problem with third-period leads in 2025-26.
60 minutes wasn’t enough. After going to overtime back in St. Paul on Saturday, the two teams did it again in Chicago on Monday.
In overtime, the Blackhawks had the puck off the draw and never gave it up before Bowen Byram fired it home for the hat trick 29 seconds into the extra frame. The Blackhawks, with the hat trick goal by Byram, won their first game of the preseason.
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It wasn’t pretty, and most exhibition games aren’t, but there was a lot for head coach Jeff Blashill to like. For one, Bowen Byram is an offensive defenseman who gives the Blackhawks an element they haven’t had in a while. They also have forwards and complementary defensemen who will help Byram take full advantage of his skills.
First impressions are everything. He isn’t going to have a hat trick, or even have a point, in every game, but he showed how much more dynamic he can make the team overall.
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What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
The Chicago Blackhawks are past their two preseason games against the Minnesota Wild. Now, they have a home and home with the St. Louis Blues to close out the preseason. The next game will be on Thursday, when they pay a visit to St. Louis for preseason game 3.
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