Birthday boy Jared Spurgeon helps Wild rally past Blackhawks

Field Level Media|published: Fri 29th November, 16:57 2024

Nov 29, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) and Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson (16) battle for the puck during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Jared Spurgeon celebrated his 35th birthday in style, scoring twice to help the Minnesota Wild rally past the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday in St. Paul.

The Wild captain, who played just 16 games last season due to back and hip injuries, scored for the first time since April 2023 and notched the eighth multi-goal game in his 15-year career.

Trailing 2-0 midway through the second period, the Wild made some changes to their lines, and the shake-up led to two goals in a 17-second span.

Marco Rossi cut Chicago's lead in half after Marcus Johansson found him cutting to the net. Kirill Kaprizov, who played in his 300th NHL game, set up the goal with a spinning pass across the attacking zone to Johansson.

Seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Spurgeon tied when he knocked the puck into the crease, and it deflected into the net off Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy's skate with 9:11 left in the second.

Seven minutes later, Spurgeon gave Minnesota its first lead of the game when he skated across center ice and shot the puck after entering the attack zone. Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek got his glove on the puck, but it still trickled past him into the net.

Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists for the Wild. Kaprizov, Johansson, Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno also recorded assists for Minnesota, which won for the second straight game.

Former Wild center Ryan Donato scored both goals for the Blackhawks, including a power-play tally in the second period. It was the second two-goal game of the season for Chicago's leading goal scorer, who has 10 in 21 games after never recording more than 16 in his previous eight seasons.

Tyler Bertuzzi, Alex Vlasic and Connor Bedard earned assists for the Blackhawks.

Marc-Andre Fleury got the start in net for the Wild, who will host Nashville on Saturday night. The veteran goalie, who turned 40 on Thursday, made 20 saves to win for the fifth time in six starts.

Mrazek made 26 saves for Chicago, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.

--Field Level Media

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