Feb. 22--The Wild's 6-1 victory over the Blackhawks was mostly a drama-free affair given that the Wild pounced on the Hawks from the start.
The most anxious moment came in the second period, when Hawks defenseman Michal Rozsival hit Wild winger Jason Zucker. Rozsival appeared to hit Zucker in the head with his elbow just after Zucker had played the puck. Zucker fell backward and hit his head on the ice.
He remained down for a few minutes and eventually needed help off the ice. The Wild said Zucker was day to day with an upper-body injury.
Rozsival received a harsh punishment for the hit -- a five-minute penalty for interference and a game misconduct, which ended Rozsival's day early. However, Rozsival is unlikely to receive further punishment from the league given the severity of his penalties during the game.
"I think it was a major, it was a spontaneous play as a defenseman in that situation," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He just played the man, unfortunately the player was injured."
Rozsival was unavailable for comment after the game.
A little embellishment: When the game was still far from being decided in the first period, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews skated in on Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk and appeared to graze Dubnyk with his shoulder. Dubnyk flailed wildly after the contact and replays showed Dubnyk might have embellished the contact.
The Hawks scored a goal shortly after the small collision, but it was waved off because the officials ruled Toews interfered with Dubnyk, and Toews was sent to the penalty box.
After reflection, Toews said the officials made the correct call, but he would like to see a replay.
"I guess I'll have to watch it," Toews said. "In the moment you always disagree no matter what. You're a little biased. I was focused on the puck. I thought he was out of his net a tiny bit. So I guess in that case they probably made the right call. It's frustrating, but it happens."
One-timers: Winger Jiri Sekac and defenseman Erik Gustafsson were healthy scratches. ... Hawks defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were on the ice for three of the Wild's goals. Winger Artemi Panarin also was on the ice for three goals. ... Scott Darling replaced Corey Crawford during a game for the fourth time this season, the third time in the last month.
