It’s Veterans Day today, so it feels fitting to start the week where every game begins at the United Center. As someone whose family has served in the military and who has some very close and dear friends still actively serving, thank you to everyone who has committed to one of our armed forces at some point.

• I got a few comments for saying last night’s game was a “complete effort” because of the third period shot totals and the fact that the Blackhawks’ power play was a dumpster fire again, so let me clarify why I saw last night’s game as a more complete effort. Last year, the Blackhawks would have started taking on water early in the third period and would have probably found a way to lose that game 3-1.
• Coming into the game last night, the Minnesota Wild were 9-2-0 in their last 11 games. They had won five of their previous six, and scored five goals in four of those five wins. The Wild came in hot. And I think sometimes we fail to give credit where it’s due. After allowing a late, game-tying goal — that happened because the Blackhawks’ defensive effort forced Minnesota to use their own line blender to get Kirill Kaprizov away from Jason Dickinson — the Blackhawks put their big boy pants back on and went back to work. And they earned a win in overtime. They didn’t lose composure and allow the avalanche to consume them.

• After the game, head coach Luke Richardson was asked if he needed to say anything to the team on the bench after the Wild goal. He said he didn’t have to because the leaders were all over the team to get back on the grind and back in the structure. And they did. That’s a great response. So, when I say that was a more complete effort, my clarification is that I expected Minnesota to bring it at some point and, when that happened, the Blackhawks responded and came back with the win.
• How about a shoutout to the Blackhawks goaltenders, Petr Mrázek and (yes, still) Arvid Söderblom. Heading into last night’s game against Minnesota, the Blackhawks’ tandem was among the ten best in the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected — and there was a pretty surprisingly sizeable gap between the Blackhawks at 9 and Boston at 10.

Team Goaltending – November 10 pic.twitter.com/Xobv4iMhK4

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 10, 2024

• Mrázek was magnificent. I feel like I should almost apologize for him not being my No. 1 Star for the win last night because he shut it down during a third period in which a really good Minnesota team put the pedal down and was constantly pressuring the Blackhawks. He stopped 32 of 33 — including 18 of 19 in the third period. Every bit of a standing ovation was earned by Mrázek last night.
• Here’s a bit of what Scott Powers wrote about Mrázek in his notes after the game last night:

There’s a stat created by Rob Vollman that measures the quality of goalie starts. You can read more about the stat here. Mrázek has fared well the last two seasons in that measurement. He had a .547 quality start percentage last season. A season later, he’s been even more consistent. With his 32-save performance Sunday, he recorded his seventh quality start of the year and has a .583 quality start percentage on the season.

• Seth Jones had a couple regrettable moments on the ice last night. Lukas Reichel picked up a hooking penalty in the second period after one of Jones’ patented defensive zone turnovers turned into a potential scoring chance for the Wild. And then he lost an edge and backflopped in front of the net on Minnesota’s one goal. On a team that has such a razor-thin margin, the guy on the ice more than anyone else can’t have 1-2 potentially significant mistakes in a game like that, much less as frequently as it happens.
• Jason Dickinson‘s a beast. Richardson was asked about how well Dickinson’s line played last night. Here’s part of his response:

“That’s what we saw most of last year, doing the job defensively and getting rewarded offensively because they’re usually above the other team in the O-zone,” Richardson said. “And when the other team misses a puck or makes a mistake, they have the ability to score. There’s always been interchangeable pieces there, but obviously Dickinson is the familiar face that’s always there. He was much better in the faceoff circle as well.”

• Brantford beat Brampton 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis scored his 14th goal of the season — and it held up as the game-winner.

He can’t be stopped!🚨🚨🚨🚨#BFD | #OHL#Blackhawks https://t.co/atlK9C83rp pic.twitter.com/YECVHGYI23

— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) November 10, 2024

• Minnesota-Duluth captain Dominic James, who is off to a marvelous start to his season (6 goals, 4 assists in 8 games) did not play against North Dakota on Saturday night because of an injury suffered on Friday night. Hoping he’s okay and can return soon.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Fabbro, 26, was the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by Nashville. He’s a right-handed defenseman who has been confounding the past couple season because he’s either been on the Predators’ top pair with Roman Josi or he’s been out of the lineup completely. Now, he’s heading to Columbus. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few other teams had a claim in on him.