Blackhawks/Wild series more entertaining than previous year’s

I hope you all enjoyed that game seven between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche as much as I did. Now it’s time to focus on how to win round two.

The Wild knocked off division-champion Colorado, but it has a big test ahead in this second-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s a rematch of last year’s first round, and the defending Stanley Cup Champions already came away with a game one victory.

The final score Friday in Chicago was 5-2, but to me that’s a little deceiving. The Wild came back from being down 2-0 to tie it up, but that was quickly erased as the Hawks took the lead again and didn’t look back.

Patrick Kane showed why he’s one of the most dominant players in the NHL, as he tallied a pair of pretty goals. Bryan Bickell, who had a strong series against the Wild last year, also had two goals. In Patrick Roy fashion, Wild head coach Mike Yeo pulled goalie Ilya Bryzgalov early, and the Hawks finished it off with an empty-netter.

This series will definitely be a tough one for the Wild to win, but I think it might be more competitive than last year’s 4-1 tilt in favor of Chicago. The Wild has some confidence and momentum after an exciting series versus the Avs. Another year of experience doesn’t hurt either.

The Wild competed well in game one, especially in the final two periods. It outshot the Hawks 17-3 in the second, but a lot of shots also missed the mark. To pick out one player, I’d like to see Jason Pominville find his goal-scoring abilities again. He teed up a few shots, only to have them go wide of the cage; two were right in a row on the power play. He wasn’t the only culprit, but there are some of those chances you’d like to have back, so the pucks are getting to the net.

The Hawks had a few days off after its first-round win over the St. Louis Blues, and it seemed the Wild surprised them or caught them on their heels slightly. Still, this talented Chicago team found a way to score goals and win, even on a night when it didn’t have its best effort.

I liked that Yeo seemed pretty critical of his bunch after the game. He said some of his players were below average and the urgency wasn’t there. I hope it sparks some energy into the team, because game one was not out of reach.

I don’t think the series is either.

Goalie injury tales continue
It wouldn’t be the 2013-14 season for the Wild without a little goaltender-injury drama in the playoffs, too. Darcy Kuemper left game seven with an upper body injury, so Bryzgalov looks to be the guy in between the pipes right now. John Curry is the backup, but I also heard Josh Harding was on the ice for practice the other day. Harding, who has multiple sclerosis, has been out for a good chunk of the season.

I’m not really sure how this situation will shake out in the series. I wouldn’t be surprised with anything at this point. I mean, Niklas Backstrom got hurt in game one warmups last year in Chicago. We could see Curry get a shot, especially if Bryzgalov struggles. Or maybe Kuemper will be back. Maybe Harding will finally be ready for a start, too.

It’s anyone’s guess.