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 Minnesota dropped its opener against Chicago despite rallying
from a two-goal deficit in the third period and also fell behind 2-0
in Game 2 on Sunday. Cody McCormick's first tally of the postseason
two minutes into the third had many believing the Wild again would
pull even, but Bryan Bickell squashed their comeback hopes with his
fifth playoff goal - and third of the series - late in the session.
Brandon Saad scored into an empty net to cap his two-tally effort
and seal the victory. The reigning Stanley Cup-champion Blackhawks
went 1-2 on the road against St. Louis in the first round, with all
three contests going to overtime.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CNBC, TSN, RDS2
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Bickell has collected five points over the
first two games of the series and enters Tuesday with a five-game
point streak after being kept off the scoresheet in his first three
postseason contests. The 28-year-old, who recorded nine goals in 23
games during Chicago's run to the championship last year, is tied
with teammate Patrick Kane for the team lead in tallies with five -
one behind Los Angeles' Marian Gaborik for tops in the league.
Center Andrew Shaw will miss his second straight contest with a
lower-body injury suffered in the series opener but could return to
the lineup for Game 4 on Friday, according to coach Joel
Quenneville.
ABOUT THE WILD: Zach Parise was held without a point Sunday for just
the second time in nine postseason games but remained second in the
league in scoring with 11. The 29-year-old has had trouble putting
the puck in the net, however, as he has gone three contests without
a goal and tallied in just two games. Matt Cooke will complete
serving his seven-game suspension for kneeing Colorado defenseman
Tyson Barrie in the first round on Tuesday and be eligible to return
in Game 4.
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OVERTIME
1. The Blackhawks have won six straight contests after losing the
first two games of their first-round series with St. Louis.
2. Minnesota G Ilya Bryzgalov is 0-4 as a starter this postseason
and has allowed three or more goals in 19 of his last 20 playoff
starts.
3. Sunday's victory was the 800th of Quenneville's overall NHL
coaching career, combining both the regular season and playoffs.
PREDICTION: Wild 3, Blackhawks 2
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