The Minnesota Wild restored some hope to their chances against the mighty Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. The 4-0 shutout of the high-powered Hawks revealed a blueprint that Minnesota will need to follow in their effort to unseat the defending Stanley Cup champions.
With Ilya Bryzgalov being given the starting goaltender duties by default/injury, the Minnesota faithful had been given a “Wild-card” that they may not have wanted to put on the table. Sorry, that pun practically wrote itself. The eccentric Russian has certainly lived up to expectation, showing flashes of brilliance that are quickly forgotten after the token lapses in concentration.
The playoffs have been a microcosm of Bryzgalov’s NHL career. Incomprehensively brilliant yet frustratingly inconsistent. With their wagon firmly fixed to the Bryzgalov crazy train, the sky can be the limit for the Wild, but so can the darkest chasms of the Bryz universe.
Here are the five key factors to the Minnesota-Chicago series.
1. For Chicago, keep their foot on the gas.
No one really expected the Wild to come back against Colorado, and certainly no one thinks that they can knock off the mighty Blackhawks. Chicago needs to stay away from their own Kool-Aid and keep grinding out wins. The Wild have no shortage of talent and veterans on that roster. The longer Minnesota are in a game (tied or within a goal) the greater their chances of survival. Chicago has the talent to blow the doors off of any team on any night of the week, but a goaltender that can lose to any team in the league. Stay focused Chicago or it’ll be a long series.
2. For Minnesota, they can plagiarize Colorado’s #WhyNotUs
As I already mentioned, the Wild were supposed to be golfing this week if you believed the Colorado hype machine. Instead, they ripped out the hearts of the Avalanche and made a delicious meal of it to set up a rematch with Chicago. Why not go ahead and rip off Colorado’s obnoxious hash-tagged slogan since they already took their soul. In short, coach Mike Yeo needs to capitalize on the underdog role and remind the Wild that they are playing with house money against a team that no one expects them to beat. Careful what you say to Bryzgalov though. Just let him be and he can ponder the vast galaxies and Chinese tiger poaching. Whatever helps him stay focused.
3. Chicago needs to remember who their goaltender is.
Corey Crawford had some moments in the first round that led us to believe that he was capable of winning games for the Blackhawks. However, his mediocre play in Round 2 is a not-so-subtle reminder that Crawford is a byproduct of Chicago’s elite defensive unit. When the Hawks wander a little too far away from their defensive zone, they are harshly reminded that their goaltender is the big red flag waving weakness that can derail their hopes for back-to-back titles.
4. Continue to hold serve at home for Minnesota
The Wild have a perfect 4-0 record at home in the 2014 playoffs and have only given up three goals in four home games. Whatever it is that makes Minnesota so dominant at home needs to keep them alive for at least two more home games in this series. The formula seems to center on allowing less than 20 shots per game. In the four home victories Minnesota has surrendered an average of only 19 shots. It’s not as much a statement about the team’s confidence in their goaltending as much as it is a reflection of Yeo’s style of play. Every player is committed to team defense with even the most notorious apathetic defensive forward Dany Heatley sporting a team best plus-7.
5. Chicago needs to get physical
The Wild have out hit the Blackhawks 91-54 in three games and it seems to actually be taking a toll. Chicago has no shortage of players that can bang and coach Joel Quenneville needs to turn them loose on Minnesota. While I’m certainly not suggesting that Chicago change their strategy to simply out hit the Wild, but there is something to be said for initiating contact instead of absorbing it. The Wild were the physically dominant team on Tuesday night with a decisive 22-8 hit ratio and though they trailed in the shot department 19-18, limiting Chicago to only 19 shots is impressive.