Game 5 Preview : It's Closing Time
Chicago Blackhawks (3-1) vs Minnesota Wild (1-3)8:30 pm United Center - Chicago, ILTV: CSN Chicago (NBCSN)Radio: WGN 720 AM
Series Results
| Date | Score | W. Goal |
| May 07 '13 | CHI 3 at MIN 0 | P. Sharp |
| May 05 '13 | CHI 2 at MIN 3 - OT | J. Zucker |
| May 03 '13 | MIN 2 at CHI 5 | P. Sharp |
| Apr 30 '13 | MIN 1 at CHI 2 - OT | B. Bickell |
Time to bring in the stud closer from the bullpen tonight and end this series here and now. Hopefully the Blackhawks come out more like Mariano Rivera and Carlos Marmol. The Hawks had the same lines at practice this morning that played in Game 4. It would be nice for the Blackhawks to come out with the fast start tonight. They are either going to be facing an injured backup or an AHL goalie tonight. Either way, simplify the game and don't be cute. Get some traffic in front of the net and just fire the puck. Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell proved, in Game 4, that good things will happen when you get the puck on net. Finally, just because we have a great penalty kill unit doesn't mean we have to use them six times a night. A couple of early goals tonight should get the job done.
Michael Russo, who does a great job covering the Wild for the Star Tribune, says Josh Harding will start in goal for Minnesota tonight. Harding took shots in practice but was very slow to get up whenever he had to go down. The Hawks will need to test him and see if he can go side to side. Darcy Kuemper will back up and Niklas Backstrom will not dress. Apparently it was very confusing to decipher who the starter was going to be at the Wild's morning skate.
So, in summation, we know less from watching the skate and the #mnwild will be just fine as long as #blackhawks shoot it right at the goalie
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) May 9, 2013
Russo also added that head coach Mike Yeo said Stephane Veilleux and Mike Rupp will be game time decisions. One will be in and one will be out. As long as the Hawks keep doing a great job on keeping Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu invisible, they should be in good shape to close out the series tonight.
Probable Blackhawks Lineup
ForwardsBrandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp - Michal Handzus - Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Viktor Stalberg
Daniel Carcillo - Marcus Kruger - Michael Frolik
Defensive Pairings
Duncan Keith - Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brent Seabrook - Nick Leddy
Johnny Oduya - Michal Rozsival
Goaltender
Corey Crawford 3-1, 1.39 GAA, .949 save %, 1 SO
Injuries
Dave Bolland (lower body) OUT, Ray Emery (lower body) OUT
Leading Scorers
| Player | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
| P. Sharp | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| P. Kane | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Bickell | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Keith | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Hossa | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Probable Wild Lineup:
ForwardsZach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker - Matt Cullen - Devin Setoguchi
Cal Clutterbuck - Kyle Brodziak - Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Stephane Veilleux - Jake Dowell - Torrey Mitchell
Defensive Pairings
Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella - Jared Spurgeon
Clayton Stoner - Tom Gilbert
Goaltender
Josh Harding 1-3, 2.48 GAA, .923 save %, 0 SO
Injuries
Clayton Stoner (unspecified injury) OUT, Zenon Konopka (foot) OUT
Leading Scorers
| Player | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
| M. Cullen | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Bouchard | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Clutterbuck | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Zucker | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Coyle | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| WILD | CATEGORY | HAWKS |
| 4 | GP | 4 |
| 1 | W | 3 |
| 3 | L | 1 |
| 1 | OT | 1 |
| 0 | P | 0 |
| 0.25 | P% | 0.75 |
| 1.5 | G/G | 3 |
| 3 | GA/G | 1.5 |
| 0 | PP% | 9.1 |
| 90.9 | PK% | 100 |
| 29.2 | S/G | 34 |
| 34 | SA/G | 29.2 |
| 49.6 | FO% | 50.4 |
