WildHBcommunity: MNWild Return to Chicago Revenge on Their Minds Game 1
Round 2 –Wild vs. Blackhawks –(All times CT) Game 1 –Fri., 5/2, at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Game 2 –Sun., 5/4, at Chicago, 2 p.m. Game 3 –Tue., 5/6, at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Game 4 –Fri., 5/9, at Minnesota, TBA Game 5 (if necessary) –Sun., 5/11, at Chicago, TBA Game 6 (if necessary) –Tue., 5/13, at Minnesota, TBA Game 7 (if necessary) –Thurs., 5/15, at Chicago, TBA
The way the Minnesota Wild had their season ended at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2013 NHL playoffs helped to shape the current makeup and mindstate of the team that will take the ice at the United Center in Game 1. The Blackhawks are ultra talented in their Top 6 forwards but the stark difference between them and the rest of the Western Conference last year in my opinion was ability to generate scoring and offense from all 4 of their forward lines.
What damned the Wild in last year's first round exit at the hands the Blackhawks was huge goals by 3rd and 4th liners like Bryan Bickell, Victor Stalberg, Andrew Shaw, and Michael Frolik. Josh Harding was very good in that series and keeping the Blackhawks superstar filled Top 2 lines seemed like it should be enough to give the Wild the opportunity to win but the deflating nature of having the Bottom 6 scoring like they did proved that having a top to bottom dangerous lineup should be the aspiration to address how the Wild fell short.
I contend that the Wild has addressed that need to have each of their forward lines capable of playing tough minutes and lighting the lamp. That point was proven in games 6 & 7 of their series versus the Avalanche as Bottom 6 forwards Kyle Brodziak, Dany Heatley and Nino Niederreiter propelled the Wild into the second round of the playoffs with secondary scoring and elevated play in the offensive zone.
The Wild team that will meet the Blackhawks tonight is most definitely the most skilled and deep team in franchise history. There is no love lost between these teams and fans should be ready for a high energy and emotion physical series. Puck possession and special teams play in this series will be the determining factor in which team emerges from this series. The Wild won three of the five regular season matchups with the Blackhawks.
I think even casual Wild fans are more familiar with the Blackhawks more than any other team in the Western Conference besides maybe the Canucks and Ducks. All the admiration and respect for Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, and the rest of their team goes out the window when the puck drops tonight.
I am confident that this current Wild team can defeat the Blackhawks in this 2nd round best of 7 series. To emerge from this 2nd round series knocking off the defending Stanley Cup Champions they will need to play a 200 ft team game limiting line rushes and challenging every pass and shot. The player that has killed the Wild this year has been Eden Prairie native offensive defensemen Nick Leddy whose speed and skill allows him to create odd man rushes and push the play creating mismatches.
I think this series is a great opportunity for the third line led by Erik Haula to be the difference maker in this series. Haula's speed will surely create matchup problems for the Blackhawks and the confidence and aggressiveness of Nino Niederreiter has him poised for a big series. Justin Fontaine should be back in the lineup in this one and matched up with those two on a high flying line.
It is Bryzgalov or Bust Now
The elephant in the room is the health of Darcy Kuemper who left game 7 after what could prove to be a re-emergence of the concussion like symptoms that caused him to miss the Wild's stretch run in the end of the regular season. Ilya Bryzgalov is a dynamic personality and has a proven playoff track record so I think this team will be confident in his ability and rally around him but I really hope Kuemper gets back soon. The tiny in stature all heart journeyman backup John Curry will be the backup tonight and until Kuemper is ready to go but I think the situation between the pipes for the Wild is the most compelling storyline for either team in this series.
What we learned last series is the Wild must PROVE they can close games especially on the road. Tonight that will be paramount if they find themselves with the lead into to the final minutes of the third they need to be strong on the puck and confident in their plans. Weak dumps and double clutching with the puck on their stick and game on the line nearly ended their season against the Avalanche and that can not continue into this series.
Wild MUST fix Their Top Power Play Unit
The Wild MUST address their putrid power play otherwise this could get ugly quickly in a series they need to take every advantage against the Blackhawks. I truly hope Mike Yeo can see that Jason Pominville on the point has been a failed experiment because his inability to handle in tight spaces has created debilitating turnovers and short hand scoring for their opponents. Pominville has not been getting his shot off playing the right point on the power play and has instead been the focal choke points for opponents penalty kill units.
Projected Lineups for Game 1
Moulson-Koivu-Coyle Parise-Granlund-Pominville Niederreiter-Brodziak-Heatley McCormick- Haula-Veilleux
Suter- Brodin…¨ Spurgeon-Scandella…¨ Prosser-Stoner
Bryzgalov Curry
Bickell-Toews-Hossa Sharp-Smith-Kane Saad-Kruger-Shaw Bollig-Handzus-Versteeg
Keith-Seabrook Oduya-Hjalmarsson Leddy-Rozsival
Crawford Raanta
Individual Leaders Minnesota Wild Chicago Blackhawks Points: Z. PARISE (10),M. KOIVU (6),C. COYLE (5) J. TOEWS (7),D. KEITH (7),P. KANE (6) Goals: Z. PARISE (3),C. COYLE (3),K. BRODZIAK (2) J. TOEWS (3),P. KANE (3),D. KEITH (2) Assists: Z. PARISE (7),M. KOIVU (5),D. HEATLEY (4) D. KEITH (5),B. SEABROOK (4),J. TOEWS (4) PP Goals: R. SUTER (1),Z. PARISE (1),C. COYLE (1) B. SEABROOK (1),J. TOEWS (1),A. SHAW (1) SH Goals: M. SCANDELLA (1) GW Goals: Z. PARISE (1),C. COYLE (1),M. GRANLUND (1) J. TOEWS (3),P. KANE (1) 3+ Goals: PIM: C. STONER (20),C. MCCORMICK (14),N. PROSSER (12) B. SEABROOK (15),B. BOLLIG (12),P. KANE (8) Shots: Z. PARISE (27),R. SUTER (23),J. POMINVILLE (20) M. HOSSA (29),P. SHARP (23),B. BICKELL (19) +/-: D. HEATLEY (+5),M. GRANLUND (+3),C. STONER (+2) P. KANE (+6),D. KEITH (+5),M. ROZSIVAL (+4)
The Wild will play in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since its first postseason appearance in 2003. The Wild won its quarterfinal series, 4-3, over Colorado and its semifinal series, 4-3, over Vancouver before being swept by Anaheim in the 2003 Western Conference Finals. The Wild is in its second consecutive playoff appearance for the first time since 2007 and 2008; it’s the team’s fifth overall playoff appearance in franchise history.Minnesota and Chicago faced each other in the first round of last spring’s playoffs. The Blackhawks earned victories in the series’ first two games in Chicago, including an overtime win in Game 1. The Wild earned an overtime win in St. Paul in Game 3 before Chicago earned two more wins to claim the series, 4-1, en route to the Stanley Cup. Minnesota enters Game 1 with an all-time record of 1-6 (including five OT losses) in the first contest of a series. Minnesota hasn’t earned a Game 1 victory since its first-ever playoff game, a 4-2 win in Denver, 4/10/03. The Wild has now advanced in two of its six series where it has dropped Game 1 –the 2003 Conference Semifinal against Vancouver and the 2014 First Round against Colorado.
The Wild enters Friday’s Game 1 in Chicago having claimed a Game 7 victory Wednesday in Denver –the Wild’s first road victory in nine playoff games. During its first-round series with Colorado, Minnesota earned three victories in St. Paul, the first time the Wild has ever earned more than one victory on home ice in a single series.
Nino Niederreiter scored two goals (including the winner 5:02 into overtime) and added an assist in Game 7 –the fourth-youngest player to ever net a total three points in a Game 7 (Elias Sports Bureau). According to Elias, at 21 years old, he is the second-youngest player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to score in OT of Game 7 (Claude Lemieux, 20). He added an assist in Game 1. After totaling three points (2-1=3) in 64 NHL games over parts of two seasons with the New York Islanders (2010-12), he totaled a career-high 36 points (14-22=36) in his first season with Minnesota. Zach Parise is tied for the NHL lead with 10 points (3-7=10) this postseason, a career high for most points in a single series. He set a playoff career high and a Wild playoff single-game record with four points (2-2=4) in Game 6 vs. Colorado –the most by an NHL player in a playoff elimination game since Duncan Keith in 2011 (Elias Sports Bureau). Parise set a franchise record for fastest goal to start a playoff game, scoring 49 seconds into the contest, before earning his fourth playoff game winner with 6:29 left in regulation. Before being held pointless in Game 7, he had a career-best six-game playoff point streak, behind only Marian Gaborik for longest playoff point streak in Wild history (8 games,4/21-5/7/03, 7-8=15). Parise is second on the Wild with 54 points in 73 career playoff contests (25- 29=54), two goals behind his dad J.P.’s 27 markers in 86 career playoff games. Mikko Koivu is set to play his 24th playoff game Friday, tying Nick Schultz for second-most in Wild history (Gaborik, 29). He ranks second on the Wild with six points this postseason (1-5=6) and has 12 points (6-6=12) in 23 career postseason games. Minnesota’s captain leads the NHL with 106 faceoff wins and ranks fourth with a 60.9% faceoff win percentage this postseason (174). He set a Wild single-game playoff record in Game 1 vs. Colorado after winning 18 faceoffs (18-of-25, 72%). He finished the regular season leading Minnesota Wild: Media Notesthe NHL with 14 assists and T-2nd with 17 points since March 18 –the night he used three assists on Long Island to become the Wild’s all-time point leader. He passed the 40-assist mark for the fourth time in his career, leading the Wild with 43 helpers, and led Minnesota with 13 multi-point games in 2013-14, with the Wild posting a 12-1-0 record in those contests. Ryan Suter has logged more ice time than every skater during each game in the Colorado series. He ranks third in the NHL in TOI/game this postseason, averaging 29:47 TOI/game. He skated at least 30:00 in 37 regular-season contests and hit the 25:00-mark 76 times during the regular season (92.7%). He leads all NHL blueliners in shots this postseason, and all Wild defensemen with four points (1-3=4), having totaled 17 points (5-12=17) in his playoff career. He finished the regular season T-1st amongst all NHL defensemen with a plus-11 rating since March 18 (14 games). Despite skating just 11:19 in the second-to-last game of the season after Minnesota clinched a playoff berth, he finished the year as the NHL TOI/game leader. His 29:24 average this season was the highest by a player since Chris Pronger averaged 29:28 with St. Louis in 2001-02. Suter’s total of 2,411:54 TOI this season was the most in a single season since Brian Leetch skated 2,449:19 with the Rangers in 1998-99. Dany Heatley leads Minnesota in plus/minus (+5) after earning a playoff career-best plus-3 rating, and tying his career high with three points in Game 7 (1-2=3), including an assist on the winning goal. He leads the Wild with 62 career playoff points (16-46=62) in 71 playoff games. Charlie Coyle is T-1st on the Wild with three goals and T-3rd with five points this postseason, while also leading the Wild in hits. He has totaled seven points (3-4=7) in 12 career playoff games. The 22-year-old finished the regular season with a point in nine of his last 12 games, totaling 10 points (5-5=10) in that span. He registered a career-high 30 points (12-18=30) this season and ranked third on the Wild in hits, despite missing 12 games at the beginning of the year with a knee strain. Ilya Bryzgalov earned the Game 7 win by stopping the only shot he faced (in overtime) in relief of Darcy Kuemper, who left the game with 8:13 left in regulation. Kuemper stopped all 22 Colorado shots in Game 3 to become the first Wild goalie to ever record a playoff shutout. He also became the first goaltender to record a shutout in his first postseason start since Anaheim's Jonas Hiller blanked San Jose on April 16, 2009. In addition, Kuemper is the first goalie to record the milestone in a 1–0 overtime win since Detroit's Normie Smith in 1936. Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced in relief in Game 2 and set franchise records for a rookie goaltender during the regular season with 16 consecutive starts (1/12-3/8), 12 wins and two shutouts. Mikael Granlund has a five-game point streak (2-3=5) since scoring the OT winner in Game 3 –the Wild’s first win of its first-round series. The 22-year-old earned his first career playoff point by scoring the overtime winner in Game 3, becoming only the fifth NHL player in the last 75 years to score his first career playoff goal in a 1–0 overtime game (Elias Sports Bureau). In Game 4, Granlund registered his first playoff assist before securing the win with three blocked shots (one without a stick) in the final 49 seconds of the game. Jared Spurgeon tied Game 7 with 2:27 left in regulation, before the Wild would win in regulation. He has three points (2-1=3) in the last four games. He finished the regular season ranked T-1st on the Wild with a career high plus-15 rating, ranked third in TOI/game and blocked shots and fifth in hits. Despite missing 14 games with a lower-body injury, the 24-year-old blueliner totaled career highs with 26 points and 21 assists. Erik Haula scored during his NHL playoff debut in Game 1. He finished the regular season with his first multi-point game (1-1=2), a three-game point streak (1-3=4) and seven points (3-4=7) in his last seven games. The former Golden Gopher totaled 15 points (6- 9=15) in 46 games during his rookie season, ranking third on the Wild with a plus-14 rating –obliterating the franchise rookie record (previously plus-5, Clayton Stoner). Three players on the Wild roster have won the Stanley Cup: Mike Rupp (NJ, 2003), Matt Cooke (PIT, 2009) and Ilya Bryzgalov (ANA, 2007). Zach Parise is the only other player to have skated in a Stanley Cup Final, falling to Los Angeles as a member of the New Jersey Devils in 2012.
Just My Take, Tony Dean Follow Me on Twitter @TonyDeanTHW Also Like the WildHBcommunity of FaceBook here: WildHBCommunity on FaceBook