The Wild on Tuesday night pulled within a game of the Chicago Blackhawks with a 4-0 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.
After a scoreless 40 minutes to start the game, Minnesota rattled off four goals in the third period to run away from the Blackhawks.
Ilya Bryzgalov was outstanding in net stopping all 19 shots he faced for his fourth career playoff shutout, his first since 2006.
The Wild grabbed their first lead of the series early in the third period when Erik Haula beat Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. Justin Fontaine and Matt Moulson assisted.
Haula passed from own zone to Moulson, who tipped to Fontaine, and with Haula streaking up the wing, he caught up and chopped pass into net
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) May 7, 2014
The Wild pushed the lead to 2-0 on Mikael Granlund’s third playoff goal. Jason Pominville and Zach Parise assisted.
On a power play late in the third, Parise put the Wild up 3-0 when he put back a rebound that went off the post, to put the game out of reach.
Granlund scored his second goal of the night on an empty net in the final minute.
Neither team had a lot going early in the game. The first period was scoreless and despite some opportunities for both teams, neither was able to take advantage.
Offensively, there were just 12 shots on goal combined in the entire first period. Chicago had seven, Minnesota five.
The game remained scoreless through the second period, which was nothing new for the Wild in the series with the Blackhawks. All three of Minnesota’s goals coming into the game had come in the third period.
The #mnwild have played 120 minutes of 1st and 2nd period hockey in this series.
And in those 120 minutes, they've scored 0 goals.
— Keith Leventhal (@KeithLeventhal) May 7, 2014
The Wild still trail in the series 2-1, but Game 4 is back at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday night.
BringMeTheNews is giving away a pair of tickets to Game 4 on Friday night. To attend, you must register by 8 p.m. on Thursday.
To register for a chance to win the tickets click here.
Want to go to Game 4? https://t.co/VAadP1qcdm We're giving away a pair of tickets on Facebook! pic.twitter.com/gpV2dbg8ez
— Bring Me The News (@bringmethenews) May 7, 2014
