Kukla's Korner Hockey
Wild knot series with Blackhawks at 2 games apiece
by George Malik on 05/10/14 at 02:17 AM ET
Comments (0)
The Minnesota Wild have pulled two fast ones on the Chicago Blackhawks, utilizing home ice to their advantage (Minnesota's 5-and-0 at home). All of a sudden, the defending Stanley Cup champs have won two consecutive games, as the AP notes:
The Minnesota Wild have turned their home ice into a deafening, discouraging place for opponents to play in the playoffs. For the second straight game, they dominated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
Jason Pominville scored in the second period off the back of Chicago goalie Corey Crawford's skate, and the Wild beat the Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday night to even their Western Conference semifinal at two games apiece.
"It's been fun to play here. I don't know what it is, but we have to find a way to bring that on the road as well," said Jared Spurgeon, whose third-period goal gave the Wild a cushion for the final stretch while the fans cheered and chanted louder and louder.
"They play hard in their building, and they're good in their building, and they check well so it's tough to get momentum in here," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
Matt Cooke returned from his seven-game kneeing suspension to give the Wild a jolt, assisting on Justin Fontaine's opening goal, and Nino Niederreiter also scored.
Continued, and as Pro Hockey Talk's Cam Tucker notes, Brandon Bollig took Keith Ballard out of the game with this hit...
And here are the game's highlights. When Ilya Bryzgalov becomes a competent goalie, even the Blackhawks' offensive juggernaut can hit quite the roadblock in Mr. Universe (who stopped 18 of 20 shots) and his trapping friends:
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: brandon+bollig,
corey+crawford,
jason+pominville,
joel+quenneville,
keith+ballard,
matt+cooke,
minnesota+wild
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Skill Will Be On Display In The Return To Play Stanley Cup Playoffs
Canadian Fans On No Playoff Hockey In Canada
Broadcasts Of Games Will Look And Sound Different
Late Afternoon Line- Michael Farber
About Kukla's Korner Hockey
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at pk@kuklaskorner.com