Chicago Blackhawks ready for Wild
When I sat down to make my NHL predictions last October, I remember thinking: "With Bruce Boudreau coaching Minnesota, maybe I should pick the Wild to win the Central Division."
If I'd only listened to that little voice … instead of predicting a fifth-place finish.
The reason behind the thought stemmed from the fact that in eight of his nine previous seasons, Boudreau had led his team to a first-place finish. But could he really do it in Minnesota, with a squad that finished fifth, fourth and fourth the previous three seasons?
It sure is looking like it as the Wild (35-12-5) holds a 6-point lead on the Chicago Blackhawks with two games in hand heading into their big game Wednesday at Minnesota (7 p.m., NBCSN).
"His teams have always been really good, really dangerous," said coach Joel Quenneville after the Hawks practiced Tuesday at Johnny's IceHouse West.
The Blackhawks' best chance to claw past Minnesota will come in their three remaining head-to-head contests, so every player on Quenneville's squad understands the importance of Wednesday's game.
"It's huge," captain Jonathan Toews said. "I think the motivation's front and center right there. We'll be thinking about that. … Every chance we get against this team we know it can be a 4-point swing, so we'll work on taking advantage of that opportunity tomorrow.
Minnesota got off to a pedestrian 11-8-4 start, then went on a 12-game winning streak in which it outscored opponents 47-22. The streak came to an end against Columbus on Dec. 31, but all the Wild has done since is go 12-3-1.
That's 24-4-1 in the last 29 games.
All-star goalie Devan Dubnyk is a huge reason for Minnesota's success, but because Boudreau started Dubnyk on Tuesday against Winnipeg the Hawks are catching a break and get to face backup Darcy Kuemper (6-3-2, 3.16 GAA, .907 save percentage).
Offensively, Minnesota's scoring comes from everywhere as a whopping 10 players have 10 or more goals. Nino Niederreiter, who scored twice a 4-2 win over the Jets, leads the way with 17, while Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal have 16 each. Mikael Granlund has 15. Zucker, Koivu and Granlund make up the team's top line.
"Dangerous team," Patrick Kane said. "I think with them, you look at the depth of their lineup it's not like they have one or two superstars that are scoring all their goals."
The Hawks are well aware that they've dropped eight straight in the regular season to the Wild. The latest setback came after Kane scored twice in the first 24:16 to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. It didn't hold up, Minnesota prevailing 3-2.
That loss came two days after a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Capitals.
"If we look back to the weekend where we played these guys and Washington … before that, everyone was talking about those being some pretty big tests and we didn't really answer the call at that time," Toews said. "Obviously it wasn't our best the way we were playing. But I think the way we're playing on the road right now going into (Wednesday's) game, we're excited … to try and redeem ourselves."
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild at XCel Energy Center, 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV: NBCSN
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: Much of Minnesota's success can be attributed to goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who leads the league in both goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.933). The Wild, however, will start Darcy Kuemper against the Blackhawks because Dubnyk played Tuesday in a 4-2 win over Winnipeg. … The Wild beat the Hawks in their first meeting this season, coming back from a 2-0 deficit and winning 3-2 thanks to goals by Nino Niederreiter, Chris Stewart and Jason Pominville. … Hawks winger Tanner Kero has 4 goals and 4 assists in the past 12 games. … Brent Seabrook has an assist in four straight. … Artem Anisimov is on a 13-game goal-scoring drought. … Corey Crawford starts in net for the Hawks.
Next: Winnipeg Jets at MTS Center, 7 p.m. Friday
- John Dietz