Wild vs Blackhawks game two starts today at 3 PM Eastern Standard Time – 2 PM for those of you watching in Minnesota or Chicago’s Central Time Zone. Patrick Kane went on a tear in the second half of game one, leading to a 5-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead for Chicago in the Wild vs Blackhawks series.
Don’t let the score fool you, though. The game was a lot closer than it looks on paper, especially through the first two periods. While the Minnesota Wild may not have the level of playoff experience that the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks have, they do have a young team hungry for their first taste of champagne from Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Wild aren’t as good – or even nearly as good – of a team on paper, but today’s game two of the Blackhawks vs Wild series won’t be played on paper. Look for the Wild to bring their A game.
Chicago, for their part, knows better than to rest easy after their game one victory. They undoubtedly watched the Wild in their series against the Avs – a series in which the home team won every game until the Wild stole one in game 7.
Patrick Kane was unbelievable in the third period of game one, adding two goals to his game-tying goal from the sec on period. Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook – who was suspended for three games for a dirty hit during the Blackhawks vs Blues series – had this to say about Kane, according to a report in Yahoo! Sports :
“Not too many players can do that, and Kaner’s done that. We were laughing a little bit about Kaner. That’s a beautiful goal and would be a highlight of probably any one of our careers, but Kaner’s done that probably 10 times. So it’s old hat for him.”
The Wild’s Zach Parise, who largely carried his team in the first round with 10 points against the Avs, was kept to a single point – an assist – in game 1 of the Wild vs Blackhawks series. Look for him to kick his game up to the next level. Parise, who struggled in last year’s Blackhawks vs Wild series, had this to say headed into game 2:
“I don’t compare myself to players on other teams when we’re playing against them. I try to go out and do my thing and help our team win. I don’t sit there and say, ‘Oh, Kane scored, I have to score now.’”
Game 2 of the Blackhawks vs Wild series starts at 3 PM Eastern. You can catch all of the action in the Wild vs Blackhawks series here.