Marcus Foligno scores as Minnesota Wild edge the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1
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Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno both scored Wednesday night. Marcus Foligno also got into a fight, and then walked away with the win.
This one went to the younger brother.
Marcus Foligno snapped a third-period tie and Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves, sending the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 victory over Nick Foligno and the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.
The Foligno brothers matched up in the first game for the Central Division foes after the All-Star break, and Marcus Foligno's ninth of the season lifted Minnesota to its 11th consecutive victory over Chicago. Foligno also tangled with Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi in the second.
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“Yeah, it's weird,” Foligno said of fighting with his brother's teammate. “Nick says they're all good guys.”
Nick Foligno called it “just two big boys fighting.”
“It's never easy or fun to watch, but at the end of the day it's my teammate over there so I'm cheering him on,” he said, “and you know we'll discuss that in the summer.”
Jacob Lucchini scored in the first for Minnesota, which had dropped two in a row.
The game was tied at 1 when Vinni Lettieri set up Foligno right on the doorstep for the tap-in goal. It was Lettieri's second assist of the game in his return from a foot injury.
“Vinni, unbelievable game by him. ... He was all over tonight,” Marcus Foligno said.
Petr Mrazek made 23 stops for Chicago in the opener of a five-game homestand. Tyler Johnson skated for 16 1/2 minutes in his return from a right foot injury.
Minnesota jumped in front on Lucchini's second career goal with 7:33 left in the first period. The 28-year-old forward beat Mrazek on the goaltender's stick side with a slap shot from the high slot.
The puck bounced out of the net and play continued before the horn sounded, giving Lucchini a chance to celebrate his first goal since Jan. 1, 2023, for Ottawa against Buffalo.
“Any goal you score in the NHL is special, and United Center against the Blackhawks is obviously pretty cool,” he said.
After getting outshot 11-1 in the first period, Chicago responded with 6:16 remaining in the second. Philipp Kurashev made a great pass over to a streaking Nick Foligno, who knocked it home for his 10th goal.
The tying goal for the Blackhawks stopped a scoreless streak of more than 173 minutes. It was the team's first goal since a 6-2 loss at Seattle on Jan. 24.
“I was proud of the guys for righting the ship in the second and third and taking a lot of that game to them,” Nick Foligno said.
Boris Katchouk had a chance to put Chicago in front 3:50 into the third, but he was denied by a sprawling Gustavsson on a breakaway.
Up next
Wild: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
Blackhawks: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.
