Plenty of reasons for Blackhawks to fear the Wild
Here we go again.
Blackhawks vs. Wild — for the third straight postseason.
The last two years, Minnesota has not been much more than a speed bump for the Hawks en route to a Stanley Cup title (2013) and a fourth conference finals appearance in six seasons (2014).
But this year things could be much different.
“Maybe it's the lucky charm, the third time — we'll see,” Minnesota's Nino Neitereitter told reporters.
Game 1 is today at the United Center at 8:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Patrick Kane ended last season's conference semifinals against the Wild in Game 6 when he pounded the puck home after it took a strange bounce off the boards for a 2-1 Hawks overtime victory.
The bounces began going Minnesota's way this season, though, after the Wild acquired goalie Devan Dubynk from Arizona on Jan. 14. Coach Mike Yeo's squad went 28-9-3 the rest of the way, catapulting from last place in the Central to 2 points behind the Blackhawks and a wild-card spot.
“It's an amazing run to get in the playoffs,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. “They had to win a lot of hockey games, they had to win in some tough buildings. Their road record was phenomenal.”
While the storylines have rightfully centered around Minnesota's goalie, there are plenty of other reasons the Wild is being picked by some (including this writer) to send the Hawks packing.
• This team is fast and hungry. Anybody who watched their series vs. St. Louis saw all three factors come into play, especially in Game 6 when they completely dominated the Blues in a 4-1 victory. If you haven't seen Zach Parise's short-handed goal that made it 1-0, do yourself a favor and check it out.
• They're experienced. Minnesota's top guns — Parise, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter — are all 30-32 years old with an average of 62 playoff games under their belts. They've had whiffs of success and now want it all.
• As Quenneville pointed out, they're road warriors. One of the Hawks' biggest advantages should be the United Center, where they are 22-4 since the 2013 postseason began. But the Wild will take you on at home, on the road, in the backyard or on the moon as evidenced by a 16-2 road record since mid-January and a 2-1 mark in St. Louis during Round 1.
• They're tough to score on. We'll end with some facts on Dubnyk, who is a Vezina Trophy finalist thanks to a .936 save percentage in the regular season. He had two rough games against St. Louis, but in Minnesota's 4 wins, Dubnyk allowed just 4 goals, stopping 102 of 106 shots (.962). Minnesota also blocked 79 shots in those victories.
Of course, the Hawks are still the Hawks, they have home-ice advantage and the mental edge in knowing what it takes to persevere in a best-of-seven series. Getting to Dubnyk early would cast a big shadow of doubt on a Wild team with high expectations but also one that hasn't solved the Hawks' riddle the last two years.
Quenneville, who was unhappy with his team in a late-season loss to Minnesota, will preach patience because scoring chances will be limited.
“The commitment to finding the patient game that we've been talking about for a long time, it has to happen,” Jonathan Toews said Thursday. “We need to have that mentality of just doing the little things right, even if it feels tedious … you saw what they did to St. Louis — they frustrated them. When they get up a goal or two, they're a really tough team to come back on.”
Said Kane: “There's more respect for this team, especially this year coming in. Their goaltender's playing great, it seems like they have a lot of depth up front and they're getting a lot of production throughout their lineup. They've got one of the best defensemen in the league back there in Suter.
“It's going to be a tough challenge.”
One the Hawks had better be up for from the get-go — or the third time WILL indeed be the charm for Minnesota.
Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh