Chicago Blackhawks (4-2) vs Minnesota Wild (4-3)
8:30 PM CDT, United Center – Chicago, IL
TV : NBCSN
Radio : 720 AM WGN
Enemy Territory : Hockey Wilderness
Probable Blackhawks Lineup
Forwards
Bryan Bickell – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp – Ben Smith – Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad – Marcus Kruger – Andrew Shaw
Brandon Bollig – Michal Handzus – Kris Versteeg
Defensive Pairings
Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson
Goaltender
Corey Crawford ((4-2, .935 Sv%, 1.98 GAA, 1 SO)
Here is a heat map of all goals against Corey Crawford from www.sportingcharts.com
Leading Scorers
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- |
| Jonathan Toews | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Duncan Keith | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Patrick Kane | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Brent Seabrook | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Andrew Shaw | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Power Play
Regular Season: 19.5%
Sharp, Kane: 10 PPG; Toews, Shaw: 5 PPG; Leddy, Hossa: 4 PPG; Keith, Seabrook: 3 PPG
Playoffs: 15% (versus St. Louis Blues who had 85.7% PK% during the regular season)
Seabrook, Toews, Shaw: 1 PPG
Penalty Kill
Regular Season: 81.4%
Playoffs: 93.1% (versus St. Louis Blues who had 19.8% PP% during the regular season)
PPGA: 1
Possession Numbers
| Season | FF% 5v5 Close | League Rank | FF% 5v5 | League Rank |
| Regular Season | 55.2 | 2nd | 55.4 | 2nd |
| Playoffs | 48.0 | 11th | 48.7 | 11th |
| St. Louis Blues | FF% 5v5 Close | League Rank | FF% 5v5 | League Rank |
| Regular Season | 53.1 | 7th | 53.7 | 4th |
| Playoffs | 52.0 | 6th | 51.3 | 7th |
As you can see, the St. Louis Blues were among the best teams in the NHL during the regular season in terms of puck possession. Matched against another strong puck possession team, the Blackhawks, the playoff series resulted in both teams ending up near the middle of the pack in terms of rank.
These player usage charts from www.extraskater.com give us some insight into how the players fared during the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.
*how to read usage charts
Chicago Blackhawks Regular Season
St. Louis Blues Regular Season
Chicago Blackhawks Playoffs Round 1
St. Louis Blues Playoffs Round 1
Probable Wild Lineup
Forwards
Matt Moulson – Mikko Koivu – Charlie Coyle
Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter – Erik Haula – Dany Heatley
Cody McCormick – Kyle Brodziak – Stephane Veilleux
Defensive Pairings
Ryan Suter – Jonas Brodin
Jared Spurgeon – Marco Scandella
Nate Prosser – Clayton Stoner
Goaltender
Ilya Bryzgalov (1-2, .826 save %, 4.25 GAA, 0 SO)
Goals Against Heat Map from www.sportingcharts.com
Leading Scorers
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM |
| Zach Parise | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| Mikko Koivu | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 8 |
| Charlie Coyle | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Kyle Brodziak | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Mikael Granlund | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Power Play
Regular Season: 17.9%
Parise: 14 PPG; Pominville: 7 PPG; Heatley, Suter, Brodin: 3 PPG
Playoffs: 14.3% (versus Colorado Avalanche who had 80.7% PK% during the regular season)
Coyle, Parise, Suter: 1 PPG
Penalty Kill
Regular Season: 78.8%
Playoffs: 88.0% (versus Colorado Avalanche who had 19.8% PP% during the regular season)
PPGA: 2
Possession Numbers
| Season | FF% 5v5 Close | League Rank | FF% 5v5 | League Rank |
| Regular Season | 48.6 | 21st | 49.0 | 23rd |
| Playoffs | 61.3 | 1st | 59.5 | 1st |
| Colorado Avalanche | FF% 5v5 Close | League Rank | FF% 5v5 | League Rank |
| Regular Season | 46.8 | 27th | 46.6 | 27th |
| Playoffs | 38.7% | 16th | 40.5 | 16th |
The Avalanche were among the worst teams in the NHL during the regular season in terms of puck possession. It is no surprise that the Wild were able to vastly out possess the Avalanche during their playoff series. Minnesota ended up first in puck possession in the first round of the playoffs while their opponent held down the last spot.
Here are the usage charts from www.extraskater.com for the Wild and Avalanche.
Minnesota Wild Regular Season
Colorado Avalanche Regular Season
Minnesota Wild Playoffs Round 1
Colorado Avalanche Playoffs Round 1
