BLACKHAWKS SCOUTING REPORT
KEY PLAYERS
Jonathan Toews Ø
Toews is a finalist for the Selke Trophy (league's best defensive forward) for the fourth time in the past five years. The Blackhawks' captain also has three goals and five assists in the playoffs. One of the league's most well-rounded players, Toews led the Blackhawks in the regular season with 66 points and was plus-30.
Patrick Kane
The Blackhawks' playoff hopes got a huge boost when Kane's broken collarbone healed more quickly than anticipated. The winger was expected to be out 12 weeks after having surgery on Feb. 25, but he returned to practice April 1 and pitched in with two goals and five assists in the first round. Kane finished the regular season with 64 points, second-most on the team, despite missing the final 21 games. He has 98 points in 99 career playoff games.
Bryan Bickell
Don't be fooled by Bickell's 14 goals and 14 assists in the regular season. The winger has thrived in postseason play against the Wild the past two seasons, scoring seven goals and assisting on three others in 11 games. At 6-4 and 223 pounds, Bickell gets most of his goals by staking out space in front of the net. Though he finished the first round with no goals, two assists and only four shots on goal, coach Joel Quenneville praised his skating and physical presence.
BREAKING IT DOWN
Offense
While Toews and Kane draw much of the attention, the Blackhawks get scoring from a wide variety of players — including their defensemen. Their mobile blue liners are a vital part of the offense and scored three of their four game-winning goals in the Round 1 victory over Nashville. Duncan Keith is the second-highest-scoring defenseman in the postseason with two goals and five assists. Chicago's deep and highly skilled pack of forwards includes Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, who recorded five points each in the first round; against the Wild in the playoffs, Hossa has a team-high 15 points, and Sharp has six goals and five assists.
Defense
The Blackhawks have been known for their devotion to defense under Quenneville, but they were unhappy with the spotty effort they put forth in the first round against Nashville. The goaltenders got little aid from a soft team defense that allowed 38.7 shots — including scads of high-quality chances — and 3.50 goals per game, second-most in the league. That forced the offense to play catch-up through much of the series. The Blackhawks' goals-against average of 2.27 in the regular season was ranked second in the NHL, and they surrendered only 11 goals to the Wild in five regular-season games.
Goaltending
Corey Crawford is the starter despite a bloated goals-against average of 4.19 — by far the worst of any playoff goalie — and save percentage of .850. Crawford was pulled in Game 1, gave up six goals in Game 2 and did not get back in until earning a victory in a relief appearance in Game 6. Scott Darling was magnificent in winning Game 1 and went 3-1, but he allowed three goals on 12 shots before being pulled in Game 6. Crawford is 8-3 against the Wild in the playoffs, with a goals-against average of 1.66.
Coaching
Quenneville has guided the Blackhawks to Stanley Cups in 2010 and 2013. In his seven seasons, Chicago has won 13 of 17 playoff series, and it has advanced to the Western Conference final four times. The coach's insistence on sound defense throughout the lineup has been a winning strategy in the postseason. He entered this season's playoffs with a postseason winning percentage of .606 (57-37) during his time in Chicago, the highest for a Blackhawks coach since 1940.
Special teams
The Blackhawks' penalty kill has stumbled in the playoffs after being a point of pride through much of the regular season. They allowed six power-play goals on 22 chances against Nashville, a 72.7 percent success rate that is the worst of any team remaining in the playoffs. That's a significant drop-off from their regular-season rate of 83.4 percent. Chicago's power play scored three goals on 19 chances. In the past two playoff series against the Wild, the Blackhawks' penalty kill was a deciding factor, allowing only two goals on 34 power-play chances.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forward lines: Brandon Saad-Jonathan Toews-Marian Hossa; Bryan Bickell-Brad Richards-Patrick Kane; Patrick Sharp-Antoine Vermette-Teuvo Teravainen; Andrew Desjardins-Marcus Kruger-Andrew Shaw
Defense pairings: Duncan Keith-Michal Rozsival; Johnny Oduya-Niklas Hjalmarsson; Kimmo Timonen-Brent Seabrook
Goalies: Corey Crawford, Scott Darling
Spares: Forwards Joakim Nordstrom and Daniel Carcillo; defensemen David Rundblad, Kyle Cumiskey and Michael Paliotta. F Kris Versteeg (lower body) is day to day.
RACHEL BLOUNT
Michael Russo's prediction Wild in six
