Wild rally late, top Blackhawks in OT

[October 12, 2018]    Jason Zucker had two goals and an assist, including the game-winning goal with 1:35 to play in overtime, to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Blackhawks goalie Cam Ward (30) watches the puck in the second period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Zucker scored on a backhand shot in the extra session to give Minnesota its first victory of the season. Ryan Suter and Eric Staal each finished with a goal and two assists for the Wild.

Minnesota evened the score at 3 on a short-handed goal with only 23 seconds left in the third period. Zach Parise's initial shot attempt was denied, but Suter knocked in the rebound to force overtime.

Alex DeBrincat led Chicago with two goals and an assist. Dominik Kahun notched his first career NHL goal for the Blackhawks, while Jonathan Toews had two assists.

Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn the win. On the opposite end of the ice, Blackhawks goaltender Cam Ward stopped 42 of 46 shots.

Chicago opened the scoring with 9:53 remaining in the first period. Toews split a pair of Minnesota defenders as he carried the puck into the offensive zone. He zipped a pass to his left for DeBrincat, who buried a wrist shot.

Less than three minutes later, Toews spotted another open teammate to increase Chicago's lead to 2-0. The Blackhawks' captain slid a backhand pass to Kahun, who ripped a one-timer from the right circle for his milestone goal.

Minnesota cut the deficit to 2-1 with 6:41 to go in the second period. Zucker charged toward the right side of the net to draw Ward's attention. Zucker quickly flipped a pass toward the left side of the net for Staal, who punched in his first goal of the season and the 396th of his career.

Staal did not take long to return the favor. He had the primary assist on Zucker's goal with 2.8 seconds left in the second period to even the score at 2.

DeBrincat struck on the power play to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead with 17:31 left in the third period. He one-timed a feed from Patrick Kane for his second goal of the game and fourth of the season.

Blackhawks forward Alexandre Fortin made his NHL debut. The 21-year-old did not register a point and finished with a minus-2 rating.

--Field Level Media

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