Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks – CHI wins 4-1, CHI leads series 2-0
Game 2 started much like Game 1 did with the Blackhawks getting the better of the play early on. Good offensive pressure eventually yielded a Marian Hossa breakaway for Chicago with about nine minutes left in the first period. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made a nice pad save but Jonathan Toews was right there to put away the rebound for the 1-0 lead. It would be a relatively uneventful period other than that, as the Wild would register just two shots on goal while the ‘Hawks had seven.
The second period would bring much of the same as the first. Chicago would have a shot attempt advantage of 6-3 through the first 11 minutes of the period. By the mid-point of the period, the Wild had just four shots on goal the entire game. The big pushback that was there from the Wild in Game 1 was not there in Game 2. The ‘Hawks would extend their lead to 2-0 with under a minute left in the period on a lovely wrist shot from Brandon Saad that beat Bryzgalov over his blocker. Minnesota had better pressure in the second half of the period as the Wild would out-attempt the ‘Hawks 6-5 over that span.
Cody McCormick would get the Wild within a goal with a goal from the slot two minutes into the third period. That would be as close as the Wild would come on this day, though, as Bryan Bickell would score late on a 2-on-1 with Hossa and Brandon Saad added an empty net goal for the 4-1 win.
The blocked shots at five-on-five were 23-11 for Chicago which stopped a lot of the Wild primary opportunities through the game. The Wild only had one sustained stretch of offensive pressure – the second half of the second period – and will need to be better when they’re able to dictate the match-ups at home in Games 3 and 4.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins – PIT wins 3-0, Series tied 1-1
It wasn’t the best of starts for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they gave three power plays to the Rangers in the first 10 minutes of the game. Luckily for the Penguins, the Rangers managed to extend the power play goalless streak to a surreal 0-for-28 (at that point) dating back to the first round. There wouldn’t be any scoring in the first period but one good sign for Pittsburgh was that Sidney Crosby played an excellent first frame. He created several scoring chances for himself and his line mates – Crosby was on the ice for eight shot attempts for Pittsburgh and only two against at five-on-five. Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi had six shifts together at five-on-five, five of them against Crosby.
The Penguins would open the scoring just over halfway through the second period. A centering pass from Kris Letang would deflect off a diving Dan Girardi’s stick and past Lundqvist. The Rangers had really been carrying much of the play up until just before the goal but they just couldn’t find a way to beat Marc-Andre Fleury. Pittsburgh started to take over the game once they managed to stay out of the penalty box, going on a 15-5 shot attempt streak after an early penalty from Chris Kunitz. Coach Dan Bylsma was able to keep Crosby away from the top two lines of New York as Crosby faced the Derek Stepan line just three times through 40 minutes.
One curious development was that Dan Girardi had six more shifts and one minute and 40 seconds more in ice time (1:20 at even strength) than Ryan McDonagh after two periods. McDonagh had played, on average, one minute and 42 seconds more than Girardi during the regular season.
A very even third period would produce a few big saves by both goaltenders, though it seemed Lundqvist had to work a little bit harder in his opportunities. A penalty with less than five minutes to go in the game by Derek Dorsett would be the beginning of the end for the Rangers team. Jussi Jokinen would put home a power play rebound goal with 3:30 left to make it 2-0 Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin would add the empty net goal with a little under a minute to play.
