The defending Stanley Cup champions will begin the second round on home ice, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild at United Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
[b]Jordan Clarkson Jersey[/b] . Watch the Blackhawks vs. Wild live tonight on TSN2 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. This series is rematch of a 2013 postseason matchup, as the Wild were the Blackhawks first victim in their march to the Cup last year. Chicago knocked Minnesota out of the first round in five games, losing only Game 3 on the road and holding a 17-7 edge in scoring. That was the first playoff meeting between these clubs, but the Wild can lean on the fact they went 3-1-1 versus the Blackhawks this season, splitting two games in Chicago. Game 2 of this series also will be staged in the Windy City on Sunday afternoon. For a little while, the Blackhawks quest to repeat as NHL champions appeared as if it was going to come to an end with a first-round exit. Then the Blackhawks reminded everyone just whey they are coming off their second Stanley Cup in four years. It looked as if Chicagos inability to claim home-ice advantage in its quarterfinals matchup with the St. Louis Blues would be the difference, as the Blackhawks lost a pair of overtime decisions to begin the set. That included a triple-overtime setback in Game 1 at Scottrade Center and the fact that the Hawks followed up with another 4-3 overtime setback in Game 2 could have left the club with slumped shoulders going back to the Windy City. Instead of rolling over, the Blackhawks got a 34-save shutout from Corey Crawford to win Game 3 before Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews potted back-to- back overtime-winning goals in Games 4 and 5. Toews then started a four-goal barrage in the third period of Game 6s series-clinching 5-1 win. Toews showed why he wears the captains "C" on his jersey as all three of his goals in the series were game-winners and he matched defenseman and Norris Trophy nominee Duncan Keith for the club lead with seven points. Toews was one of six multi-goal scorers for the Blackhawks in the series, with Kane also potting three goals. Keith and fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook added two goals and Seabrook finished with six points despite missing three games due to suspension for a hit to the head in Game 2. As expected, the duo of Keith and Seabrook logged a ton of minutes. Keith was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes a game, while Seabrook averaged 27 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time. Hell need to maintain his discipline in Round 2. Chicago also had the best penalty kill percentage coming out of the first round, limiting St. Louis to two goals on 29 chances. Crawford, meanwhile, settled down after a rough start to keep the Blackhawks chances of becoming the first repeat champions since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings alive. Rocked for eight goals in the two losses, Crawford followed up his third career postseason shutout by yielding just six goals on 98 shots over the final three games. He ended the series with a 2.03 goals against average and .926 save percentage. The Wild survived Round 1 despite playing from behind seemingly the whole time during their quarterfinals matchup with the Central Division champion Colorado Avalanche. A road team did not win a game in the series until Minnesotas 5-4 victory in Game 7. In that contest, the Wild overcame four one-goal deficits, getting a game-tying goal with 2:27 left in regulation before Nino Niederreiters tally 5:02 into overtime. Niederreiters second goal of the game capped the latest comeback of the series for the Wild. They trailed 2-0 in the series after losing the first two on the road and then were behind 3-2 ahead of a Game 6 victory. Rookie netminder Darcy Kuemper was seen as the savior at the early portion of the series, relieving Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2 and going perfect with 14 saves. He then allowed just one goal in total in back-to-back home victories, including a defensive 22-save gem in Game 3. Like the rest of Minnesotas roster, Kuemper showed an ability to bounce back, following up a Game 5 defeat with a 21-save effort in the next game to extend the series. However, Kuemper was forced to exit Game 7 after 51 minutes of action due to an unknown injury and Bryzgalov had to make just one save in 13 minutes and 15 seconds of relief before Niederreiters goal. The injury will leave Bryzgalov as the starter for at least Game 1 of this series and he posted just a 4.25 goals against average and .826 save percentage in his three games that totaled 112:41 of ice time. John Curry, a 30-year-old journeyman, will suit up as Bryzgalovs backup. Curry has seen action in six career NHL games and none in the playoffs. Head coach Mike Yeo said that Kuemper is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury following Fridays morning skate. Minnesota has made it to the playoffs in both seasons since signing forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter to monster contracts and both were solid in Round 1. Parise had three goals and seven assists, tying him with three other players -- two of those on the Avalanche -- for the postseason lead in points. Mikko Koivu was second on the club with six points off a goal and five helpers. Suter, meanwhile, averaged 29:47 of ice time and had a goal with three assists to lead Wild defensemen in points. Thirteen different skaters scored a goal for the Wild against the Avalanche, with Charlie Coyle matching Parise for the team lead with three. Youngsters Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund added two each along with veteran Kyle Brodziak, while blueliners Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella also scored twice. Kuemper won his only start versus Chicago this season, stopping 33-of-34 shots faced at home in January, while Bryzgalov took a shootout loss in Chicago. Bryzgalov is 8-6-5 with a 2.51 GAA lifetime versus the Blackhawks. Crawford, meanwhile, went 2-2-0 with a 2.98 GAA in four games versus the Wild this season. Kane had three goals and two assists versus the Wild in 2013-14 Toews, though, was held to just a pair of assists. Parise had two goals against Chicago in the season series, while Suter had three assists and Granlund four helpers.
[b]Larry Nance Jr. Cavaliers Jersey[/b] . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18.
[b]Nik Stauskas Jersey[/b] . With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night.FRISCO, Texas -- Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi broke a tie in the 45th minute and the San Jose Earthquakes beat FC Dallas 2-1 on Saturday night for their first road victory of the season. San Jose improved to 4-4-4, and Dallas dropped to 0-6-2 in its last eight and 5-7-3 overall. Dallas has failed to score multiple goals in a game during the eight-game winless streak. San Jose played with a man advantage after FC Dallas Adam Moffat received a red-card in the 37th minute. Its the sixth red card the FC Dallas player has received this year. Pierazzi scored on a right-footed volley from 25 yards away that landed just inside the near post and over the fingertips of goalkeeper Chris Seitz. The goal was Pierazzis first in MLS. "I had a lot of space in front of me, its a good score, its a great goal," Pierazzi said. &quuot;Its been a hard start for the season, its been difficult, new country, new football, good to score.
[b]Tristan Thompson Cavaliers Jersey[/b]. quot; Blas Perez opened the scoring for Dallas in the 16th minute, and Atiba Harris tied it in the 27th. Dallas had a chance to tie it less than a minute later after Fabian Castillo was awarded a penalty kick, but goalkeeper Jon Busch made a diving two-handed save to his right. Castillo was awarded the penalty after a foul by Jordan Stewart. Busch also made another two-handed save on Castillos shot in the 71st minute. Perez scored on a right-footed volley from the top of the penalty box. Castillo set up the score with a cross to Perez. Harris tied when he placed a shot into the centre of the net from 8 yards away. Steven Lenhart set up the goal with a cross from across the penalty box. ' ' '
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