CHICAGO – One of their most timid periods of the season was nearing a merciful conclusion when the Wild finally looked like they had a chance to flip momentum in their favor.

They hemmed the Blackhawks in their zone, long enough to make a change and recruit Kirill Kaprizov into the action, and the pressure caused Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek to lose his stick. His teammate Taylor Hall handed off his, and the image of Mrazek trying to protect his crease with Hall’s much skinnier twig made him appear almost as vulnerable as if he were emptyhanded.

But the replacement worked just fine for Mrazek because the Wild’s big break culminated in a dribbler from Jake Middleton that Mrazek easily corralled.

That was the Wild in a nutshell on Sunday night, an out-of-sync, listless attack that still managed to bank a point from a 2-1 overtime loss to the lowly Blackhawks at United Center after a late third-period rally.

Chicago’s Philipp Kurashev capitalized off the rush only 1 minute, 48 seconds into 3-on-3 overtime after Matt Boldy scored a long-awaited equalizer at 15:29 of the third period for a Wild lineup that played like it was feeling the weight of its schedule.

This was the team’s third game in four nights, fifth in eight days and 10th on the road to start the season, and the Wild’s fatigue showed up in the details: They iced the puck unnecessarily, couldn’t hold the puck in the offensive zone and didn’t have the speed required through the neutral zone to catch the Blackhawks off guard.

Mrazek was almost airtight (32 saves) and Chicago ended its two-game slide and lengthy skid vs. the Wild, which had won 12 in a row against the Blackhawks dating back to Feb. 4, 2020.

Back-to-back penalties within the first six minutes of the first period, tripping calls against Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, was the first sign the Wild were off.

Although Chicago didn’t convert on either, the Blackhawks did capitalize before the period ended on another uncharacteristic look for the Wild. A dump-in hopped over Middleton’s stick along the boards, and Jason Dickinson scooped up the puck before skating to the middle, where he wired the puck around Wild traffic and behind Filip Gustavsson for an unassisted goal at 16:44; this was only the fourth time the Wild gave up the first goal this season.

In the second, the Wild juggled their lines.

Ryan Hartman centered Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello joined Eriksson Ek and Johansson. Kaprizov teamed up with Marco Rossi and Boldy.

But none of the combinations sparked the Wild, who also blanked on three power plays.

Their penalty kill went 3-for-3, with the team not getting whistled for another penalty after their two trips in the first until the third period, and the team went a perfect 12-for-12 on the trip after also denying San Jose and Anaheim.

That late shift in Chicago territory when Mrazek lost his goal stick was one of the Wild’s best looks all night, and the Blackhawks exited unscathed.

But the Wild were better in the third, outshooting Chicago 19-4, and were rewarded for their improvement.

After Boldy hit the post earlier in the period, he connected on a wrister for his ninth goal, which is tied with Kaprizov for the team lead.

Gustavsson, in a second consecutive start, had 20 stops.

By going pointless, Kaprizov ended a multipoint game streak on the road at eight games, one game shy of him joining Wayne Gretzky as the only players to post multiple points in nine consecutive road games.

Fortunately for the Wild, the rest they seem to need is on deck.

Their next game isn’t until Thursday, when they’ll play host to the Canadiens before the Central Division rival Stars visit St. Paul on Saturday.

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