Western Conference Semifinal, Game 4: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3 – Recap

Thursday night in St. Paul, the Hawks had a chance to sweep the Minnesota Wild and advance to the Western Conference Final. The first half of the period saw back-and-forth action, with both teams getting their share of chances, but neither scoring. Brent Seabrook would get the Hawks on the board 10:23 into the game on a shot the deflected off a Minnesota leg and past Devan Dubnyk. The Hawks would get the better of the chances the rest of the way in the period, but Seabrook’s goal was the only one in the first. After twenty, it was 1-0 Hawks.

Not long after the second period started, the Wild went to the power play after Jonathan Toews was sent off for hooking. The penalty was called 18 seconds into the period. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty and would get a power play of their own 14 seconds later when Marcus Kruger was tripped by Nino Niederreiter while attempting to join Toews on a 2-on-1. The Hawks would convert 3:28 into the period when Andrew Shaw went five-hole on Dubnyk after Dubnyk lost sight of the puck. After the faceoff following the stoppage due to an injury to Michal Roszival, Erik Haula cut the Chicago lead in half, putting a rebound given up by Crawford into the net. The goal came 6:42 into the period. After the Haula goal, the Wild mostly controlled the action, dominating in shots during the period. However, only Haula’s got past Crawford and the Hawks would head into the second intermission up 2-1.

The beginning of the third saw a return to back-and-forth action until the Hawks went to the power play 4:46 into the period after Nate Prosser was sent off for hooking. The Hawks would get a few nice looks but ultimately come away empty on the man advantage. The successful penalty kill seemed to energize the Wild, as momentum sung their way in the minutes that followed. After a couple long possessions by the Wild, the Hawks leveled things out.

The Hawks put the lead back to two 13:20 into the period when Patrick Kane scored on a 2-on-1 with Bryan Bickell. With just under four minutes to play in the third, Bickell was sent off for boarding. The Wild would pull Dubnyk to make it 6-on-4. After a couple great chances that were denied, Marian Hossa shot the puck down the ice and into the open net to make it a 4-1 Hawks lead. The goal came 16:53 into the third. The Wild would get the goal back 49 seconds later when Jared Spurgeon converted on the power play. Shortly after the ensuing face-off, Dubnyk got off the ice again. The Wild scored with just under a minute-and-a-half left in the third to cut the Hawks’ lead to 1. The goal came from Niederreiter. With 15 seconds to play, the Hawks went to the penalty kill for having too many men on the ice. The Wild would get a couple good looks, but would be unable to score, and the Hawks won the game 4-3 and the series 4-0.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN (1 G)

★★ Bryan Bickell, W, CHI (2 A)

★ Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (1 G, 1 A)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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