The Minnesota Wild take to the ice in Chicago Sunday afternoon for game two of their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Blackhawks. The players and coaches agree there are a few key things they need to improve upon to get a win and even the series at 1-1 before it moves to Minnesota.
Coach Mike Yeo said after Saturday’s practice that his team played a good game, but not a great game Friday night, and that’s why they lost to Chicago 5-2, the Star Tribune reports.
Some of the keys to getting a win today?
— Be aware of Chicago’s star Patrick Kane, says KSTP. He scored two goals in the third period Friday night to put the game away for the Blackhawks.
— Figure out how to score against Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford. He has given up just nine goals in six playoff games against the Wild, dating to last year, according to KSTP.
— Score on power plays. The Wild were 0-for-3 on power play opportunities on Friday night, and their record against Chicago is 0-for-20 in the postseason over the past two years, the Star Tribune reports. By contrast, the Wild gave up two power play goals to Chicago on Friday night.
— Get a better performance from goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. After helping the Wild earn a playoff berth with his strong play in March and early April, Bryzgalov has struggled lately, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. In his last five starts — three of them playoff games — he’s gone 1-4. In Game 1 against the Blackhawks, Bryzgalov allowed four goals on 21 shots.
His backup for the time being is John Curry. Normally Darcy Kuemper would be on deck, but he did not make the trip to Chicago because of a possible injury he suffered in game 7 against the Avalanche.
The Wild’s goal was to get at least a split with Chicago in the first two games, says the Star Tribune. The team still has the chance to do that, but they’ll have to do it against a Blackhawks team that has won 15 of its past 17 home games, and is the defending Stanley Cup champion.
The game begins at 2 p.m. and will be nationally televised on NBC.
Games three and four are scheduled for Tuesday and Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
