Ready or not, the next time the Wild practice it will be game week. Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in their sixth and final preseason game Friday at United Center. Marco Rossi, Jonas Brodin, Brock Faber, Marcus Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov also scored goals for Minnesota, which will have the weekend off before returning to practice on Monday to prepare for Thursday night’s regular season opener. “It’s been a good training camp. I feel like we’re ready to start,” Brodin told KFXN-FM after the game. The defenseman had a goal and assist and was a plus-3 on Friday. The Wild finished the preseason with a 4-2 record after beating Winnipeg and Chicago twice each and losing a pair of games to Dallas. Playing a lineup that largely resembled the one that will take the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild blew out Chicago for the second time this week after Tuesday’s 7-2 victory at the X. Forward Matt Boldy and defenseman Jake Middleton did not travel to Chicago because they’re recovering from lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively. They’re expected to be available against Columbus. Rossi scored late in a four-minute man advantage at 7:01, and Brodin scored four seconds later off the ensuing faceoff, sending a pass into the zone that caromed off Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek and into the net to make it 2-0 early. Mats Zuccarello scored on a 4-on-3 advantage with 33 seconds left in the second period — sending a wrist shot past a shielded Mrazek — for a 3-1 lead. Brock Faber scored on a rush 13 seconds into the third period, scoring 5-hole on a backhand after a pass from Joel Eriksson Ek to make it 4-1. The Wild quickly blew the game open when Johansson scored to finish a 2-on-1 with Liam Ohgren at 1:46 of the third period to make it 5-1. That was an important play for Ohgren in his last game to make an impression on a coaching staff that will spend the weekend deciding who will remain on the NHL roster. The deadline to cut down to 23 players is 4 p.m. Monday CDT. In his first training camp in Minnesota, John Hynes ran the Wild ragged in camp, and he and the team are happy with the results. Last year, the Wild started 5-10-2, a skid that cost Dean Evason his job, and the team knows it has to be better this season if they’re going to go back to the postseason after missing in 2023-24. “I feel good, feel like the overall preseason has been good,” Hynes told KFXN-FM after the game. “You can make training camp demanding and difficult, and apply the structure. But (I liked) the way they came to the rink every day and pushed. It was good to get through it. Now, we have a couple days to fill back up energy-wise, and we get back to it.” After opening with games against the Blue Jackets and Seattle Kraken at home, the Wild finish October with a seven-game road trip. Kaprizov finished a rush off a neutral-zone turnover by deflecting a feed from Zuccarello past Mrazek to make it 6-1 at 7:26 of the third. Mrazek stopped 28 of 34. Related Articles Minnesota Wild | Last preseason game will be worthwhile ‘test’ for Wild Minnesota Wild | Wild owner confident Bally Sports North will broadcast entire 2024-25 season Minnesota Wild | Minnesota Wild owner pitches bigger Xcel Center remodel, 650-room hotel for downtown St. Paul Minnesota Wild | Wild owner: ‘Nobody will offer (Kirill Kaprizov) more money than us’ Minnesota Wild | Wild pare down to 30 players for last week of training camp