Zuccarello hat trick helps Wild defeat Blackhawks for 4th straight win

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mats Zuccarello had a hat trick and an assist in extending his point streak to nine games, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for Minnesota (17-11-2), which has won four in a row and six straight at home.
"The guys are committed," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "… I think we've got to the point here, and obviously we're just going to have to keep teaching and reminding this is how we play. This is how the Minnesota Wild play. We play stingy, we play hard, we make it difficult to play against and then we'll get our opportunities and when we do, we'll hopefully capitalize as we have here as of late."
Jonathan Toews scored his 10th goal of the season for Chicago (7-18-4), which has lost six straight and 14 of its past 15 games (1-13-1). Petr Mrazek made 18 saves.
"No one wants to lose," Blackhawks forward Max Domi said. "We certainly don't. It's not fun, and we got to stick together because that's the only way we're going to get out of this. I thought we showed glimpses of that tonight.
"Guys are getting sick and tired of losing, so we just got to find a way to push back now."

Zuccarello gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 4:54 of the first period, redirecting a pass from Kaprizov at the back door. Zuccarello has five goals and seven assists in his streak.
Kaprizov increased the lead 2-0 at 8:32 of the second period, pushing through a rebound. He has six goals and 13 assists in an 11-game home point streak.
"[Zuccarello and Kaprizov] were really good tonight," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "We didn't kill plays in our D-zone early, and that just fuels their game and they really get moving in there."
Zuccarello scored his second of the night on the power play at 19:17, burying a seam pass from Matt Boldy.
Toews cut the deficit to 3-1, scoring seven seconds into the power play, with a shot that deflected in off Wild defenseman Jon Merrill at 8:27 of the third period.

Zuccarello secured the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 17:51 for the 4-1 final.
"You go through a season and go through surges where not everything is clicking and you feel like you don't get the bounces," Zuccarello said. "And then you end up with an extended time where everyone feels good, and confidence is up, and the puck bounces your way and the passes that you make and the plays that you make are there and goes through. I think confidence level when you win games is important."
NOTES: Chicago forward Tyler Johnson, who returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing 20 games with an ankle injury, did not play. … Toews and Patrick Kane factored on the same goal for the 298th time in the NHL. The only other teammates in Blackhawks history to do so as many times are Steve Larmer and Denis Savard (396), and Stan Mikita and Kenny Wharram (339). … Merrill played in his 500th NHL game. He was plus-1 in 17:28 of ice time. … Zuccarello scored his second hat trick in the NHL and first since Oct. 30, 2015, with the New York Rangers.