Expect Hawks, Wild to fight during games, not after whistles
Fighting in hockey is going the way of the landline phone, cameras that use film and mail boxes on nearly every corner.
Still, when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, players and fans expect the intensity to ratchet up a few notches from the regular season. It happened in Round 1 when the Blackhawks' Andrew Shaw was punched on the bench by Nashville's Mike Ribeiro, but a far better example was the insanity that took place when Vancouver and Calgary went at it in Game 2 of their opening-round series. Late in that game, the scrums led to an instigating minor, six fighting majors and six game misconducts.
So as the Hawks and Wild square off in their second-round series, it's fair to wonder if some action will extend beyond the whistles, especially considering the teams are division rivals and have played 11 playoff games against each other the last two years.
Don't bet on it.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville and Minnesota winger Zach Parise both said Friday these teams aren't built that way and (gulp!) actually respect each other.
"We know how good they are and we know how good they can be and we respect them," Parise said. "We respect how good they are and how much success they've had as a team. We know we have to play our best to beat 'em."
Of course, Shaw has been known to get under an opponent's skin and will be ready for anything.
"They're probably not too happy in the last two years we've faced them and eliminated them," Shaw said. "I think that's gonna give them a little extra fire and we've got to expect that and outwork our opponent tonight."
Game 1 importance:
In the last five seasons (including this year's first round), the team that won the series' first game has prevailed 72 percent of the time. The Hawks were 7-1 in their last eight Game 1s before playing the Wild, advancing six of the seven times they captured the opener. The only exception was last season when the Kings prevailed in the Western Conference finals. Minnesota was 2-7 all-time in Game 1s.
Before Friday's Game 1, Bryan Bickell addressed the home-ice issue, which the Hawks did not enjoy vs. Nashville in the first round.
"Home ice is nice to have to start," Bickell said, "but you can see how quickly you can lose it and the momentum. Hopefully we have a good start at home and get some well-earned rest when we need it."
Seven teams have fallen into 0-2 holes since 2011 and came out on top. Three of those came last year with Minnesota overtaking the Avs in seven, the Hawks erasing the Blues in six and the Kings (who were down 0-3) winning the next four vs. San Jose.
Simple math:
Minnesota understands it can't advance to the Western Conference finals without winning a game at the United Center. That's something the Wild has never accomplished in its history, so while the team has played lights-out on the road since mid-January (16-2-2), can Mike Yeo's team finally beat the Hawks in Chicago?
"We've been pretty close to the best team in the league (the last few months)," Yeo said. "But the bottom line is until we get into this series, until we find something different or prove something different, then nothing's changed. We have to change something here along the way."
Tip-ins:
The Hawks came to terms with forward Artemi Panarin on a two-year contract. Panarin had a team-high 62 points with Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League. … In its 4 wins in the first round, the Wild outscored the Blues 15-4.
He said it:
"It seems like it's been weeks to get to this game."
- Bryan Bickell, on the five days off between Rounds 1 and 2
He said it II:
"I started trying to hit him in the head and mark it up a little bit."
- Andrew Shaw, after noticing Corey Crawford was sporting a new goalie mask at Friday's morning skate