Minnesota Wild (1-2)
2.00 Goals For (12th)
3.00 Goals Against (11th)
0.0% Power Play (16th)
88.9% Penalty Kill (5th)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 0G 3A = 3pts
2. #22 Cal Clutterbuck ~ 1G 1A = 2pts
3. #96 Pierre-Marc Bouchard ~ 1G 1A = 2pts
Top PIM's:
1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8 PIM's
Top TOI:
1. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 32:42
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #37 Josh Harding (1-2) 2.41GAA .928%SP
Vs.
Chicago Blackhawks (2-1)
3.00 Goals For (6th)
2.00 Goals Against (6th)
11.1% Power Play (12th)
100% Penalty Kill (1st)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 0G 5A = 5pts
2. #10 Patrick Sharp ~ 2G 1A = 3pts
3. #2 Duncan Keith ~ 1G 2A = 3pts
Top PIM's:
1. #27 Johnny Oduya ~ 6 PIM's
Top TOI:
1. #2 Duncan Keith ~ 24:05
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #50 Corey Crawford (2-1) 1.81GAA .935%SP
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"Skin against skin, blood against bone, you're all by yourself, but your not alone, You've wanted in now you're here, driven by hate, consumed by fear, let the bodies hit the floor" is lyrics to Drowning Pool's anthem Let the Bodies Hit the Floor. It is a song that would've been a fitting description of Game 3 where the Wild prevailed 3-2 in overtime. The game was fast, and the normally 'mild' club was very physical and taking every opportunity to inflict some physical punishment on the Blackhawks. While it can be argued at times the Wild got the worst of the hits from time to time, the constant hitting forced the Blackhawks to get rid of the puck at times sooner than it wanted to and if it wasn't for a tremendous effort by Corey Crawford the Wild may have blown out the Chicago on Sunday. The hits also had another pleasant side effect of keeping the sellout crowd very much into the game and kind of noisy. The hits also led to after-whistle scrums which are synonomous with playoff hockey and you could tell this was the first game where players were regularly getting underneath each other's skin. Leading the hit parade for the Wild was Cal Clutterbuck with 8, followed closely by Devin Setoguchi who had 7 of his own. Both players combined for more hits (15) than Chicago had combined which was 13 compared to the Wild's 34. Minneapolis Star Tribune's Chip Scoggins had a great article talking about the greater effects of the Wild's physical play and how incredibly important it is the Wild keep on hitting each and every game of this series in an article he wrote here.
Not only were the Wild hitting more, but they were shooting a lot more as well as Minnesota registered 37 shots on goal, the most so far in the playoffs by the Wild. The Wild were getting reasonable pressure from its top line, which had been pretty quiet in the first two games. Yet, the best line continues to be the 2nd line of Setoguchi, Matt Cullen and Jason Zucker. The line uses its speed very effectively and the quick triggers of Setoguchi and Zucker work well with Cullen's ability to set them up. Cal Clutterbuck and Pierre-Marc Bouchard were taking their chances to shoot as well and result was a diversified attack that kept pressure on Chicago for a good portion of the game. An involved Bouchard really helps give the Wild a boost offensively and even though at times he plays timid, he still has terrific hands as he demonstrated on his backhand goal. Corey Crawford does give up rebounds so even though you may not score on the initial shot good things can still happen off the rebound. A good example of this was when Matt Cullen turned on the jets and dropped his shoulder to power a backhand on goal which was kicked out front by Crawford, and if Charlie Coyle had been hustling a bit more he would've had an easy tap in on the rebound but he was a step slow and Duncan Keith was able to sweep it out harm's way. Jason Pominville is still a possibility but its tough to say. Considering he's missed the last 5 games the Wild has played I doubt it. Jake Dowell or Carson McMillan will likely get a shot tonight in place of a hurting Mike Rupp (knee).
Sunday's game also provided a great example of what not to do when you're playing up-tempo physical hockey, as the Wild tried to defend its lead towards the 2nd half of the 3rd period. The Wild stopped being the aggressors and started to sit back and wait for Chicago to attack and that's precisely what the Blackhawks did. The Wild were lucky that mistake that allowed Chicago to tie the game in regulation didn't hurt them in a far bigger way in overtime. The Wild hopefully learned they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas against Chicago, ever.
Chicago will likely come out rather energized for Game 4. Blackhawks Head Coach Joel Quenneville again felt his team failed to match the Wild's intensity (much the way he felt they did not in Game 1, even though they won) so I think its safe to say he'll have his club amped in the rematch. If there is one player I'd watch for in Game 4 for the Blackhawks its team captain Jonathan Toews who has been a non-factor on the stat sheet but may want to try to inspire his club by having a big game. Chip Scoggins wrote another article for the Star Tribune here that kind of talks about what to expect from the Blackhawks tonight here. If the Wild can survive the Chicago maelstrom that is sure to take place early on the Wild could really turn the series on its head with a win tonight.
The Wild will have to match that level of intensity, but they will have to be smart about how they do so. Justin Falk's needless extra shove to Michael Frolik is a case in point for trying to be 'tough' at the wrong time. The good feelings from Game 3 are great, but it won't matter if they can't follow it up with another victory. The challenge will likely be much greater so the team will have to dig real deep to make it happen. It wouldn't be worth it anyways if it was easy.
On a softer note the Wild have recieved some good and some unfortunate news over the last few days regarding season awards. For the first time ever multiple skaters of the Wild seemed to have a realistic chance at winning an award. Unfortunately, Minnesota's 19-year old wunderkind defenseman Jonas Brodin was not amongst the top 3 finalists (Chicago's Brandon Saad, Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau, and Montreal's Brendan Gallagher) for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie even though he got the praise of many notable hockey writers such as TSN's Bob McKenzie who had him #1 on his list. What probably doomed Brodin was his lack of points, and even though his play and his performance on the top line certainly is worth of consideration it didn't wow those writers who base most of their voting decisions on stats rather than actual impact of play. The Star Tribune's Michael Russo blogged about it here. On the bright side, good news for Wild workhorse defenseman Ryan Suter as he was named as one of three finalists along with Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban and Pittsburgh's Kris Letang. Notice how in both categories two out of the 3 finalists are from the east? No evidence of bias there either huh? Russo, also spoke of the 'bias / non-bias' of it all. I think with the uneven amount of votes amongst writers leaning strongly towards the Eastern Conference, in a year where the East never played the West and vice versa that Ryan Suter could end up getting hosed out of the award. Montreal has 12 votes compared to Phoenix's 1?
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