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CHICAGO
MINNESOTA |
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| Western Conference Semifinals - Best of 7 - Game 4 - CHI Leads 3-0 | |
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| 3 | CHICAGO | +105 | Ov 5,+105 | +100 | Ov 5,-105 | | 4 | MINNESOTA | -125 | Un 5,-125 | -120 | Un 5,-115 |
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| All Games | 55-36-0 | -4.3 | 55-36 | -4.3 | 32-46 | 2.8 | 33.8 | 2.4 | 30.8 | | Team Stats (Road Games) | 26-19-0 | +2.1 | 26-19 | +2.1 | 14-24 | 2.7 | 30.2 | 2.4 | 29.9 | | Last 5 Games | 4-1-0 | +3.2 | 4-1 | +3.2 | 3-1 | 3.0 | 30.0 | 2.4 | 29.6 | | Playoff Games | 7-2-0 | +5.2 | 7-2 | +5.2 | 6-2 | 3.1 | 32.9 | 2.8 | 36.2 | | vs. Division | 22-16-0 | -4.3 | 22-16 | -4.3 | 17-15 | 2.7 | 33.2 | 2.6 | 32.0 |
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| Team Stats (All Games) | 91 | 257 | 85 | 70 | 88 | 14 | 22 | 3073 | 8.4% | 283 | 50 | 17.7% | 428 | | Team Stats (Road Games) | 45 | 121 | 42 | 32 | 41 | 6 | 13 | 1357 | 8.9% | 140 | 28 | 20.0% | 205 | | Team Stats (Last 5 Games) | 5 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 10.0% | 8 | 2 | 25.0% | 25 | | Team Stats (Playoffs) | 9 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 296 | 9.5% | 23 | 4 | 17.4% | 48 | | Team Stats (vs. Division) | 38 | 103 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 1261 | 8.2% | 100 | 18 | 18.0% | 174 | | Stats Against (All Games) | | 214 | 72 | 67 | 69 | 6 | 12 | 2803 | 7.6% | 241 | 43 | 17.8% | 346 | | Stats Against (Road Games) | | 110 | 34 | 35 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 1345 | 8.2% | 134 | 26 | 19.4% | 178 | | Stats Against (Last 5 Games) | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 148 | 8.1% | 15 | 5 | 33.3% | 15 | | Stats Against (Playoffs) | | 25 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 326 | 7.7% | 30 | 8 | 26.7% | 33 | | Stats Against (vs. Division) | | 100 | 39 | 29 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 1216 | 8.2% | 110 | 25 | 22.7% | 163 |
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| CORY CRAWFORD (All Games) | 63 | 62 | 1815 | 1676 | 92.3% | 2 | 36-26 | -9.5 | 36-26-0 | -8 | 23-33 | | CORY CRAWFORD (Road Games) | 31 | 31 | 892 | 825 | 92.5% | 2 | 20-11 | +5.8 | 20-11-0 | +5 | 10-18 | | CORY CRAWFORD (vs. Division) | 29 | 28 | 844 | 774 | 91.7% | 2 | 16-12 | -5.7 | 16-12-0 | -4 | 13-13 | | CORY CRAWFORD (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 3 | 107 | 103 | 96.3% | 0 | 3-0 | +3.2 | 3-0-0 | +3 | 1-1 | | CORY CRAWFORD (Playoff Games) | 6 | 5 | 154 | 141 | 91.6% | 0 | 4-1 | +3.2 | 4-1-0 | +3 | 3-1 | | SCOTT DARLING (All Games) | 19 | 17 | 590 | 552 | 93.6% | 1 | 12-5 | +6.4 | 12-5-0 | +6 | 5-8 | | SCOTT DARLING (Road Games) | 11 | 10 | 350 | 324 | 92.6% | 1 | 6-4 | +1.9 | 6-4-0 | +2 | 3-5 | | SCOTT DARLING (vs. Division) | 7 | 6 | 228 | 213 | 93.4% | 0 | 4-2 | +1.9 | 4-2-0 | +2 | 3-2 | | SCOTT DARLING (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 129 | 118 | 91.5% | 0 | 3-1 | +2 | 3-1-0 | +2 | 3-1 | | SCOTT DARLING (Playoff Games) | 5 | 4 | 171 | 160 | 93.6% | 0 | 3-1 | +2 | 3-1-0 | +2 | 3-1 | | ANTTI RAANTA (All Games) | 14 | 12 | 389 | 364 | 93.6% | 3 | 7-5 | -1.2 | 7-5-0 | -1 | 4-5 | | ANTTI RAANTA (Road Games) | 4 | 4 | 98 | 87 | 88.8% | 1 | 0-4 | -5.6 | 0-4-0 | -5 | 1-1 | | ANTTI RAANTA (vs. Division) | 5 | 4 | 140 | 129 | 92.1% | 0 | 2-2 | -0.5 | 2-2-0 | 0 | 1-0 | | ANTTI RAANTA (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 3 | 100 | 94 | 94.0% | 1 | 1-2 | -2.6 | 1-2-0 | -3 | 1-2 | | ANTTI RAANTA (Playoff Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 |
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| All Games | 50-41-0 | +0.1 | 50-41 | +0.1 | 33-40 | 2.8 | 30.2 | 2.5 | 27.6 | | Team Stats (Home Games) | 24-21-0 | -8.2 | 24-21 | -8.2 | 18-18 | 3.0 | 31.1 | 2.5 | 25.1 | | Last 5 Games | 2-3-0 | -1.2 | 2-3 | -1.2 | 1-1 | 2.4 | 26.8 | 2.2 | 31.2 | | Playoff Games | 4-5-0 | -1.5 | 4-5 | -1.5 | 3-2 | 2.3 | 25.6 | 2.6 | 27.4 | | vs. Division | 21-17-0 | +2.8 | 21-17 | +2.8 | 15-15 | 2.8 | 29.7 | 2.5 | 28.7 |
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| Team Stats (All Games) | 91 | 252 | 68 | 81 | 95 | 8 | 17 | 2752 | 9.2% | 265 | 45 | 17.0% | 412 | | Team Stats (Home Games) | 45 | 135 | 42 | 45 | 45 | 3 | 8 | 1398 | 9.7% | 146 | 28 | 19.2% | 230 | | Team Stats (Last 5 Games) | 5 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 134 | 9.0% | 11 | 3 | 27.3% | 16 | | Team Stats (Playoffs) | 9 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 230 | 9.1% | 20 | 6 | 30.0% | 31 | | Team Stats (vs. Division) | 38 | 105 | 23 | 39 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 1130 | 9.3% | 109 | 19 | 17.4% | 170 | | Stats Against (All Games) | | 224 | 61 | 83 | 72 | 8 | 11 | 2512 | 8.9% | 249 | 35 | 14.1% | 382 | | Stats Against (Home Games) | | 112 | 40 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 5 | 1131 | 9.9% | 128 | 16 | 12.5% | 189 | | Stats Against (Last 5 Games) | | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 156 | 7.1% | 8 | 2 | 25.0% | 18 | | Stats Against (Playoffs) | | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 247 | 9.3% | 15 | 3 | 20.0% | 38 | | Stats Against (vs. Division) | | 95 | 24 | 39 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1092 | 8.7% | 108 | 15 | 13.9% | 153 |
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| NIKLAS BACKSTROM (All Games) | 19 | 14 | 452 | 401 | 88.7% | 1 | 5-9 | -4.5 | 5-9-0 | -4 | 7-5 | | NIKLAS BACKSTROM (Home Games) | 10 | 6 | 209 | 187 | 89.5% | 0 | 2-4 | -2.8 | 2-4-0 | -2 | 3-2 | | NIKLAS BACKSTROM (vs. Division) | 8 | 6 | 211 | 186 | 88.2% | 0 | 1-5 | -4.3 | 1-5-0 | -4 | 3-2 | | NIKLAS BACKSTROM (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 116 | 100 | 86.2% | 0 | 0-4 | -4 | 0-4-0 | -4 | 2-2 | | NIKLAS BACKSTROM (Playoff Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | JOHN CURRY (All Games) | 2 | 1 | 25 | 20 | 80.0% | 0 | 0-1 | -1.5 | 0-1-0 | -2 | 1-0 | | JOHN CURRY (Home Games) | 1 | 1 | 23 | 19 | 82.6% | 0 | 0-1 | -1.5 | 0-1-0 | -2 | 1-0 | | JOHN CURRY (vs. Division) | 1 | 1 | 23 | 19 | 82.6% | 0 | 0-1 | -1.5 | 0-1-0 | -2 | 1-0 | | JOHN CURRY (Last 4 Games) | 2 | 1 | 25 | 20 | 80.0% | 0 | 0-1 | -1.5 | 0-1-0 | -2 | 1-0 | | JOHN CURRY (Playoff Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | DEVAN DUBNYK (All Games) | 67 | 65 | 1861 | 1725 | 92.7% | 4 | 40-25 | +12.2 | 40-25-0 | +11 | 24-26 | | DEVAN DUBNYK (Home Games) | 33 | 32 | 863 | 795 | 92.1% | 3 | 18-14 | -2.7 | 18-14-0 | -2 | 10-14 | | DEVAN DUBNYK (vs. Division) | 34 | 33 | 969 | 903 | 93.2% | 3 | 20-13 | +8.2 | 20-13-0 | +7 | 11-14 | | DEVAN DUBNYK (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 118 | 109 | 92.4% | 0 | 1-3 | -2.4 | 1-3-0 | -2 | 1-1 | | DEVAN DUBNYK (Playoff Games) | 9 | 9 | 236 | 215 | 91.1% | 1 | 4-5 | -1.5 | 4-5-0 | -1 | 3-2 | | JOSH HARDING (All Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | JOSH HARDING (Home Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | JOSH HARDING (vs. Division) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | JOSH HARDING (Playoff Games) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | | DARCY KUEMPER (All Games) | 32 | 28 | 727 | 659 | 90.6% | 2 | 14-14 | -2.4 | 14-14-0 | -1 | 11-14 | | DARCY KUEMPER (Home Games) | 16 | 14 | 295 | 262 | 88.8% | 2 | 8-6 | -0.8 | 8-6-0 | 0 | 7-6 | | DARCY KUEMPER (vs. Division) | 12 | 9 | 259 | 241 | 93.1% | 1 | 7-2 | +5.5 | 7-2-0 | +6 | 4-4 | | DARCY KUEMPER (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 1 | 66 | 63 | 95.5% | 0 | 1-0 | +1.6 | 1-0-0 | +2 | 1-0 | | DARCY KUEMPER (Playoff Games) | 1 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 100.0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0-0 |
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| | Average power rating of opponents played: CHICAGO 3.15, MINNESOTA 3.18 |
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| 4/11/2015 | at COLORADO | 2-3 | L | 0, -115 | L | 5 ov | P | | 4/15/2015 | at NASHVILLE | 4-3 | W | 0, +105 | W | 5 ov | O | | 4/17/2015 | at NASHVILLE | 2-6 | L | 0, +105 | L | 5 ov | O | | 4/19/2015 | NASHVILLE | 4-2 | W | 0, -160 | W | 5 ov | O | | 4/21/2015 | NASHVILLE | 3-2 | W | 0, -160 | W | 5.5 un | U | | 4/23/2015 | at NASHVILLE | 2-5 | L | 0, +105 | L | 5 ov | O | | 4/25/2015 | NASHVILLE | 4-3 | W | 0, -160 | W | 5 ov | O | | 5/1/2015 | MINNESOTA | 4-3 | W | 0, -140 | W | 5 ov | O | | 5/3/2015 | MINNESOTA | 4-1 | W | 0, -140 | W | 5 un | P | | 5/5/2015 | at MINNESOTA | 1-0 | W | 0, +115 | W | 5 un | U | | 5/7/2015 | at MINNESOTA | |
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| 4/11/2015 | at ST LOUIS | 2-4 | L | 0, +140 | L | 5 ov | O | | 4/16/2015 | at ST LOUIS | 4-2 | W | 0, +115 | W | 5 un | O | | 4/18/2015 | at ST LOUIS | 1-4 | L | 0, +110 | L | 5 un | P | | 4/20/2015 | ST LOUIS | 3-0 | W | 0, -135 | W | 5 ev | U | | 4/22/2015 | ST LOUIS | 1-6 | L | 0, -145 | L | 5 un | O | | 4/24/2015 | at ST LOUIS | 4-1 | W | 0, +120 | W | 5 un | P | | 4/26/2015 | ST LOUIS | 4-1 | W | 0, -135 | W | 5 un | P | | 5/1/2015 | at CHICAGO | 3-4 | L | 0, +120 | L | 5 ov | O | | 5/3/2015 | at CHICAGO | 1-4 | L | 0, +120 | L | 5 un | P | | 5/5/2015 | CHICAGO | 0-1 | L | 0, -135 | L | 5 un | U | | 5/7/2015 | CHICAGO | |
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| |  | CHICAGO: LAST SEASON: 46-21-15, 107 points. Finished third in Central Division, lost to Los Angeles Kings in Western Conference final.
COACH: Joel Quenneville, 7th season with the Blackhawks, 268-127-59; 18th in the NHL, 706-410-77-100.
ADDED: C Brad Richards, G Michael Leighton.
LOST: LW Brandon Bollig, D Sheldon Brookbank.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Brandon Saad. The talented winger was terrific in the final part of the playoff series against the Kings, collecting three goals and four assists in the last four games. Playing on a line with Patrick Kane and newcomer Brad Richards, he could do even better than his career highs of 19 goals and 28 assists from last season.
OUTLOOK: It's Stanley Cup or bust for the loaded Blackhawks, who have no glaring weaknesses. They should be among the league's highest-scoring teams again this season, and Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith leads a solid group of defensemen. The Central could be hockey's toughest division, but the Blackhawks are a legitimate threat for their third NHL title in the last six seasons. | | MINNESOTA: LAST SEASON: 43-27-12, 98 points. Lost to Chicago 4-2 in Western Conference semifinals after beating Colorado 4-3 in first round.
COACH: Mike Yeo, fourth season, 104-82-26.
ADDED: LW Thomas Vanek, LW Brett Sutter, D Justin Falk, D Stu Bickel.
LOST: RW Dany Heatley, LW Matt Moulson, D Clayton Stoner, C Cody McCormick, LW Mike Rupp.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Vanek signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Wild after spending his first nine NHL seasons in the Eastern Conference, primarily with Buffalo. Vanek will be counted on for a scoring boost for a team that tied for 24th in the NHL in goals per game, but with Zach Parise and former Sabres teammate Jason Pominville among the top six forwards the onus is not all on him.
OUTLOOK: After advancing past the first round for only the second time in franchise history with a dramatic upset of the Central Division champion Avalanche, the Wild are on track for more with the addition of Vanek and the development of young forwards Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter. The goalie situation is the biggest concern, with Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper returning as the top two after an injury-laden season at the position that forced the Wild to give four different players 19 starts or more in the net. |
| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER NHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW (CHICAGO-MINNESOTA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Blackhawks-Wild Preview* =========================
By JEFF BARTL STATS Senior Writer
Chicago At Minnesota, Game Three, 8:00 p.m. EDT
The Minnesota Wild have faced this predicament before.
Down 0-2 in the series to the Chicago Blackhawks in each of the last two postseasons, Minnesota won Game 3 at home to get back into the series.
The Wild weren't expecting that familiarity to arise again this year after a second-half push to make the playoffs and first-round series win over favored St. Louis. But here they are again, trailing their playoff nemesis as they hit their home ice Tuesday night.
Minnesota hadn't lost back-to-back games in regulation since Jan. 11 and 13, the latter coming one day before it acquired eventual Vezina Trophy finalist Devan Dubnyk in a trade from Arizona.
Then the Blackhawks jumped ahead 3-0 in Game 1 and hung on for a 4-3 win before Patrick Kane scored twice in Sunday's 4-1 victory.
The 2013 series ended in five games after Minnesota's 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 and went six a year later when it recovered to even the series in St. Paul before dropping the next two.
"We can draw upon the past. Last year we were able to win a couple games and get back in the series, but we have to learn from this," coach Mike Yeo said. "Our confidence is not shaken. I still feel like we're going to win the series and our players still feel like we're going to win the series."
The Wild must take at least one at Xcel Energy Center to send the series back to Chicago for Game 5 on Saturday. They'll certainly need to clean things up, though.
Ryan Suter misplayed a puck along the boards in the second period Sunday, leading to Jonathan Toews' short-handed goal that opened the scoring. Later, Suter's errant pass sailed to Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith, who made a long feed to an open Kane before he sniped one past Dubnyk with 19.9 seconds left in the period.
The Blackhawks improved to 28-0 when leading after two periods as Chicago's two prominent stars provided the cushion. Toews has four goals and five assists in the playoffs, while Kane has five of each to give him 101 points in as many career postseason games.
Kane has a goal in three straight and has recorded a point in eight of nine since returning from a broken clavicle that forced him to miss the regular season's final 21 games. He has six goals and seven assists in his last eight against the Wild, including last year's playoffs.
"We're not about numbers right now. We're worried about taking care of business, getting the wins," Kane said. "We did that twice here at home. We got the job done here."
Chicago hasn't done as well in Minnesota, dropping five of the last seven including a 3-0 loss in the most recent meeting there Feb. 3. Dubnyk made 24 saves in that contest, but he's been outplayed by Corey Crawford for most of the first two of this series.
Crawford stopped 30 shots Sunday and is 6-2-0 with a .950 save percentage in his last eight against the Wild.
The Blackhawks made a significant lineup change before Game 1, inserting 20-year-old Teuvo Teravainen in place of Kris Versteeg. Teravainen scored the deciding goal in Game 1, then made a nifty play along the boards to spring Patrick Sharp for his third-period goal Sunday.
"I don't really care about them, I care about our team right now," Yeo said. "We're going back home and we should be excited to play in front of our crowd, but we have to treat it like a Game 7 right now."
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| | Last Updated: 4/19/2024 7:04:27 PM EST. |
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