After two weeks of non-stop action in Round 1, the fun continues with Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ducks vs. Flames Predictions and Preview For Pacific Division Final
Sixteen teams started out the quest for the Stanley Cup, but the field has dwindled down to eight teams vying for the best trophy in sports. In the Central Division, the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild remain as one of these teams will advance to the Western Conference Final.
Before the puck drops on Game 1 of this series at the United Center in Chicago on Friday, here's a preview and our predictions:
Canadiens vs. Lightning Predictions and Preview For Atlantic Division Final
[Central Division 3] Chicago Blackhawks vs. [Wild-Card 1] Minnesota Wild
Round 1 Reflection: In the opening round, Sports World News picked the Blackhawks to top the Nashville Predators in six and for the Minnesota Wild to do the same against the St. Louis Blues. Both teams won in six.
Season Series: The Blackhawks won the first three meetings of the regular season while the Wild bounced back to steal the next two following a trade for Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk shutout Chicago on Feb. 3 and allowed one goal in a win on April 7. The Blackhawks outscored the Wild 14-11 in the five meetings.
Cup Dreams: Chicago is in the Western Conference semifinals for the third straight season and will look to make it to the Western Conference Final for the third consecutive campaign as well. The Blackhawks are hoping to eventually win their third Stanley Cup in the last six years. Still in search of its first Cup in franchise history, Minnesota is in the Western semis for the second straight year and will look to advance to Round 3 for the first time since 2003.
Series Overview: These teams are familiar postseason foes as the Central Division rivals go head-to-head in the playoffs for the third consecutive campaign. After losing to the Blackhawks in five games in Round 1 in 2013, the Wild fell to them again in 2014, this time in six contests in the second round, after toppling the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game thriller in the opening round.
Captain Jonathan Toews paced Chicago's offense in Round 1 by tying for first in the NHL with eight points while he was also nodded with teammates Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa and the returning Patrick Kane (clavicle) for second in the league with five assists through the first round.
Kane and Keith also each tallied twice in the opening round while Toews found the back of the net three times. Deadline acquisition Antoine Vermette surged in the faceoff dot in Round 1 while Patrick Sharp had 24 shots on goal, lit the lamp twice and racked up five points.
For Minnesota, it's top line surged in the opening round series against the Blues. Zach Parise (3-4--7), Jason Pominville (2-3--5) and Mikael Granlund (1-4--5) were the top three scorers for the Wild in Round 1. Nino Niederreiter also had a productive series against St. Louis, tying Parise for the team lead with three markers and adding an assist for four points.
Eight players scored at least one goal for Minnesota last round while captain Mikko Koivu was one of seven players to have at least three points in the series.
On defense, Joel Quenneville's group usually boasts Keith and Brent Seabrook on the top pair, but the two were scattered in Round 1 to make up for a lack of depth. The duo is still relied upon heavily on the blue line and each contributed big goals during the opening round. Johnny Oduya and Nicklas Hjalmarsson stayed together as the second pair and were a very consistent unit in the opening round.
For Mike Yeo's club, durable defenseman Ryan Suter (26:05 average time on ice) once again logged heavy minutes in Round 1 while his partner Jonas Brodin (22:31) blocked 12 shots in the set. Marco Scandella (two goals, one assist) and Jared Spurgeon (one tally, two helpers) led all Wild defenseman with three points in Round 1.
In the crease, the Blackhawks had an eventful back-and-forth in Round 1. Corey Crawford struggled in Game 1 and was pulled after allowing three goals to the Predators, making way for rookie Scott Darling to enter the game in relief. Darling then stopped 42 shots en route to a double overtime win.
Quenneville went back to Crawford for Game 2 and he subsequently allowed six goals in a loss.
Darling then played between the pipes for victories in Games 3 and 4, but he faltered in Game 5 and yielded four goals in the team's loss. Darling was then pulled from Game 6 after allowing three tallies in the first period, making way for Crawford, who stopped all 13 shots he faced to win the game and clinch the series.
The Blackhawks are going with Crawford in Game 1 and he is 1-1 with a 4.19 GAA and a .850 save percentage in the playoffs, allowing nine goals on 60 shots.
Minnesota will turn to Dubnyk as the Vezina Trophy finalist has been a catalyst to their turnaround and one of the many reasons they're still playing as the calendar nears a shift to May. Dubnyk, playing in his first postseason, is 4-2 with a 2.32 GAA and a .913 save percentage while letting up 13 goals on 149 shots.
Special Teams: The Wild boasted the top power play in the NHL through Round 1 (33.3%) while the Blackhawks ranked ninth (15.8%). On the penalty kill, Minnesota placed ninth (81.8%) while Chicago finished 13th (72.7%).
Last Thoughts: This should be a fun series and could go either way as the Wild have ridden the hot goaltender and their situation between the pipes is a little clearer than their adversary. Still, few teams boast the depth that Chicago does up front and though their defense has suffered a bit in comparison to the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup teams, there's still reason to believe that Chicago will thwart off Minnesota for the third straight spring in a series that could go the distance.
The Pick: Blackhawks in 7.
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