Blackhawks unable to contain Wild’s Mats Zuccarello in yet another loss

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Blackhawks did a good job suppressing Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello in their first meeting this season against the Wild.

They didn’t fare quite as well in their second meeting Friday.

Zuccarello recorded a hat trick and Kaprizov added the Wild’s other goal in their 4-1 win, extending the Hawks’ misery into yet another weekend.

“They were really good tonight,” Hawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We didn’t kill plays in our ‘D’-zone early, and that just fuels their game. They really get moving in there. I’m sure they probably weren’t happy with their last game against us, either, so they were top-notch today.”

Before the game, Richardson showed the Hawks video clips demonstrating how well they defended the two Wild stars back on Oct. 30. The Hawks lasted to a shootout before losing that night and recorded five of the eight total scoring chances during their five-on-five ice time together.

Containing them again proved impossible, however. Wild coach Dean Evason, utilizing the advantage of second change at home, was able to regularly match up his first line (Zuccarello and Kaprizov centered by Sam Steel) against the Hawks’ first line (Patrick Kane and Sam Lafferty centered by Max Domi) and exploit the defensive weaknesses of that Hawks trio.

The Wild produced 13 of the 17 total scoring chances during Zuccarello and Kaprizov’s five-on-five ice time in this game. The passing on their most dangerous shifts was crisp and quick to the point of being almost unstoppable.

Zuccarello easily could’ve had four goals — and he did tally an assist to finish with four points — if not for a ridiculous reaching-back paddle save in the second period by Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek.

“It’s desperation,” Mrazek said. “It’s a lucky save. I saw they had an empty net [and] I didn’t have anything else to help get there, so I was just trying to focus on the release and put the stick there.”

Mrazek officially recorded only 18 saves, but most of those were heroic stops against high-danger chances. It was one of his best games as a Hawk.

Unfortunately for him, the Hawks “just don’t have enough” clicking right now — in Richardson’s words — to give either of their goalies the support they need. They’ve scored just six goals in their last six games combined.

“Obviously, we’re going through it right now, and we all recognize that,” Domi said. “But we’re not going to quit. We’re not going to stand down. We just have to find a way to just get one [win] here and build on that.”

Johnson, Vlasic injured

Tyler Johnson’s first comeback attempt from his ankle injury lasted only two games.

The veteran forward re-aggravated his ankle Thursday against the Golden Knights, missing the third period, and did not play Friday. Reese Johnson moved back into the lineup and Seth Jones moved back onto the top power-play unit (marking a quick end to the five-forward approach) in his stead.

There’s hope Johnson’s second comeback attempt could come soon, though. Richardson said the Hawks “just want to let it settle down.”

Down in Rockford, Hawks prospect defenseman Alex Vlasic — who had looked as NHL-ready as expected in his first 21 AHL appearances — will miss six weeks with a fractured right fibula.

Filip Roos, who scored in his first career AHL game Tuesday after being sent down, should be able to help compensate for Vlasic’s absence.

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