from Michael Russo of the StarTribune,
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only 18 teams in NHL history have rallied to win a best-of-seven series after losing their first two games at home. The last to do so was the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the first round against Montreal.
Coach Bruce Boudreau and the Wild face the daunting task of erasing 2-0 deficit.
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series hold a record of 305-48 (86.4 percent). The Blues are 10-2 in such situations. The two other times they won the first two games on the road ended in a sweep (1993 vs. Chicago and 2001 vs. Dallas).“We don’t worry about any of that stuff. People can say whatever they want and think we have no chance, but we’ve seen crazier things happen,” Wild winger Jason Zucker said. “We feel we’re a very good hockey team, and we’ve got to come in [Sunday] and win a game.”
Most concerning, though, is that Yeo has implemented a game plan that has neutralized the NHL’s second-best offensive team.
In 137 minutes, 48 seconds in the series, the Blues have allowed two goals, none at 5-on-5. Add in the March 7 meeting that was Yeo’s first game as head coach against his former team, and the Wild hasn’t scored a 5-on-5 goal in 197 minutes against the Blues.
Yeo swears this isn’t because he knows the Wild so intimately that he has some secret elixir as to how to shut down its players.
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