Western Conference Semifinal, Game 3: Blackhawks 1, Wild 0 – Recap

After two Hawks wins on home ice, the series shifted to Minnesota. Early on, we saw back-and-forth action until Antoine Vermette was sent off for tripping 7:42 in. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Hawks would get their first power play of the game 13:09 when Jared Spurgeon was sent off for tripping. The Hawks converted 14:06 into the game when Patrick Kane went five-hole on Devan Dubnyk to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. There would be no more penalties or goals in the period. After one, shots were even at eight, but one from the Hawks went in and none from the Wild did.

The first twelve minutes of the second saw back-and-forth action, with neither team scoring. At the twelve minute mark, Bryan Bickell was sent off for interference and the Hawks went to the penalty kill. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty, with Corey Crawford making a couple nice saves in the process. The Wild would outplay the Hawks in the second, but neither team would score, and after two, the Hawks led 1-0.

The Wild continued to control the action to start the third and would get a power play 9:52 into the period after the Hawks were caught with too many men on the ice. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Wild maintained control of the game after the power play, but with just under 1:45 to play, they still trailed 1-0. At this point, they pulled Dubnyk in favor of the extra attacker. Even with the sixth skater on the ice, the Wild were unable to score and the Hawks won 1-0.

The Wild controlled the action for a good portion of the game, which has to be a bit unsettling for the Hawks. However, the fact that you controlled the action for most of the game, didn’t score, are now down 3-0, have not lead in the series, and are currently tied with Patrick Kane in goals scored has to be far more unsettling for the Wild. Especially if the Hawks keep playing good defense and this Corey Crawford shows up every night. Crawford’s now given up one goal in the last 120 minutes and the only reason I’m not saying he’s back to his 2013 Playoff form is that the one goal he did let in was a terrible one to give up. And if Crawford doesn’t have it on a particular night, the Hawks can always turn to Scott Darling, who has proven himself to be a very nice goalie.

Having said all that though, the series is not over, and the Hawks need to drastically step up their offensive play. You can’t count on winning games by getting the first goal and then treating the rest of the game like an extended penalty kill.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Patrick Sharp, LW, CHI (1 A)

★★ Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (1 G (GWG))

★ Corey Crawford, G, CHI (30 SV, SO)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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