Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Kane scored twice and Corey Crawford
was solid in between the pipes as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the
Minnesota Wild 4-1 in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Patrick Sharp tallied a goal and an assist, Jonathan Toews supplied a short-
handed goal and Crawford made 30 saves for the Blackhawks, who won 4-3 in
Friday’s series opener.
Chicago improved to 8-0 all-time at home against the Wild in the playoffs and
have won all five home games this postseason.
Matt Dumba lit the lamp and Devan Dubnyk allowed three goals on 30 shots for
the Wild, who lost consecutive games for the first time since acquiring Dubnyk
from Arizona on Jan. 14.
The series will resume Thursday with Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center in
Minnesota.
Toews finally opened the scoring on the penalty kill with 7:32 remaining in
the second.
Marian Hossa stripped Ryan Suter of the puck in the neutral zone, skated into
the Wild zone on an odd-man rush and dished the puck to Toews, whose shot from
the right side deflected off the knob of Dubnyk’s stick and over the goal
line.
Moments later, Crawford made a beautiful sprawling save on Kyle Brodziak and
threw out his pad to deny Zach Parise on a following sequence.
Following a failed Minnesota entry, Duncan Keith took the puck and sent a
perfect stretch pass through the neutral zone to Kane, who made it a two-goal
game by wristing a shot under the arm of Dubnyk from the right circle with
19.9 seconds left before the second intermission.
Dumba got the Wild within 2-1 after firing a shot from the far edge of the
right circle off the glove of Crawford for a power-play goal just 1:20 into
the third.
Six minutes later, Sharp restored Chicago’s two-goal advantage with a seeing-
eye wrister under Dubnyk’s glove from the left-circle dot.
Dubnyk was pulled with over two minutes left in regulation, but Kane scored on
the vacated cage to seal the outcome.
Thomas Vanek had the best chance in a scoreless first period. Vanek skated to
the front of the net and had his deflection in the crease turned aside by
Crawford’s quick pad.
Midway through the second stanza, Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya made a
stellar defensive play, diving to swipe the puck away from Chris Stewart on a
breakaway. Stewart crashed hard into the boards and went straight to the
dressing room, but returned to the ice after missing just a few shifts.
Game Notes
Kane recorded his 100th and 101st career playoff points with his two goals …
Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival played in his 100th career playoff game
… Wild forward Justin Fontaine was out of the lineup with a lower-body
injury that he suffered in Game 1 on Friday … Minnesota is now 2-8 in Game
2s, last winning one in a first-round matchup with Colorado in 2008 …
Chicago improved to 3-0 when leading after two periods during the playoffs.
They were 25-0-0 in the situation during the regular season.
