The Chicago Blackhawks, defending Stanley Cup champions, have found themselves in a series with the Minnesota Wild. It didn’t look like that would be the case a few days ago.
The Wild, down 2-0 early on in this series, have won the last two games. That includes a 4-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Game 4 on Friday. The series now shifts back to Chicago, all tied.
“This series is long from over, so that’s the good news. We’ve got a chance to redeem ourselves and be better than we have been,” said Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews afterward, as per Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Toews added: “It’s playoff hockey. It’s not supposed to be easy. There’s going to be some moments where your stomach drops.”
The Blackhawks were shut out in the third game, and kept to just two goals - Ilya Bryzgalov was sensational for Minnesota after allowing a weak goal to Patrick Sharp - in the fourth game. (Just check out this save late in the third period.)
Chicago might have the advantage in this series on paper when it comes to talent. But the Wild have been able to keep the Blackhawks’ skilled players in check, for the most part, in the past two games.
On Friday, Chicago had just 20 shots on Bryzgalov in the entire game.
“We can look in the mirror and know we can do a better job of getting to their net and creating scoring chances,” said Sharp, as per Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
Players in the #mnwild locker room used the word "frustrating" a lot in describing how the #Blackhawks feel right now.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) May 10, 2014