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Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Blackhawks' Rozsival fractured ankle, season over

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 4:08 PM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

NHL.com

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival will miss the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after sustaining a fractured left ankle in Game 4 of their Western Conference Second Round series against the Minnesota Wild.

"He will require surgery to repair it. He is not expected to return to full hockey activity until next season," the Blackhawks said in a statement Friday.

In the second period, Rozsival fell awkwardly in the neutral zone while skating backward to defend Wild forward Thomas Vanek after Nino Niederreiter lifted the puck from the Minnesota end into the Chicago zone. Play continued for 14 seconds with Rozsival unable to get up, and Chicago goalie Corey Crawford made a right-pad save to deny Vanek on a breakaway.

Rozsival could not put weight on his left leg and needed help getting off the ice and to the locker room with 6:37 remaining.

"You hate to see your teammates in pain like that," Chicago left wing Patrick Sharp said.

Five reasons Blackhawks advanced to Western Final

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 11:12 AM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Brian Hedger - NHL.com Correspondent

It was the result hardly anybody expected from the Western Conference Second Round series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild.

Chicago's sweep of the best-of-7 series was impressive and surprising considering the Blackhawks' inconsistent play in the first round against the Nashville Predators and the Wild having Devan Dubnyk, arguably the hottest goalie entering the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Minnesota dispatched the St. Louis Blues in its opening series, eliminating the Central Division's top team in the regular season, and came into this series with a lot of confidence. Despite losing to Chicago in each of the previous two postseasons, the Wild felt this was their time to turn the tables.

Instead, they were beaten in four straight games by a team playing its best since late December.

Here are five reasons the Blackhawks advanced:

Noel: Blackhawks made big plays, steadfast in system

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 9:52 AM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer

For additional insight into the Western Conference Second Round series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Claude Noel to break down the action. Noel will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Noel was coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 2011-14 and interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. He also coached many years in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Noel, a former forward, had 138 points in 353 regular-season games in the AHL and played seven games in the NHL with Washington Capitals in 1979-80.

In the end it was more about what the Chicago Blackhawks did well and not what the Minnesota Wild failed to do in four games of the Western Conference Second Round best-of-7 series.

Five reasons Wild were eliminated from playoffs

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 9:12 AM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent

For the third consecutive season, the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks.

This time, the end came in a four-game sweep in the Western Conference Second Round, the first time the Wild had been swept in a playoff series since the 2003 Western Conference Final.

The Wild never scored first and never held a lead.

Here are five reasons the Wild were eliminated:

Wild's top players come up short vs. Blackhawks

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 2:40 AM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- For the third year in a row, the Minnesota Wild will spend their summer trying to figure out how they can narrow the gap with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks completed a four-game sweep of their Western Conference Second Round series Thursday with a 4-3 victory. It's the third consecutive year Chicago has ended Minnesota's season, and the second straight year they've done it at Xcel Energy Center.

It was another year of the Wild watching their best players be overshadowed by the Blackhawks stars. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith combined for eight goals, 11 assists and a plus-18 rating in the series. Minnesota's Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter combined for two goals, seven assists and were minus-20.

Vanek did not score a goal, and Pominville did not until 2:18 remained in the third period Thursday.

Suter said a good share of the blame rests with Minnesota's top players.

"It always does, right?" Suter asked rhetorically. "We have to be better, no question about it."

Blackhawks complete sweep but lose Rozsival

Friday, 05.08.2015 / 2:19 AM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Brian Hedger - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It was a big night for the Chicago Blackhawks, who completed a sweep of the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Second Round on Thursday. But the victory came with a price.

Defenseman Michal Rozsival left Game 4 with a lower-body injury at 6:37 of the second period and didn't return. Asked for an update after the series-clinching 4-3 victory, the answer by Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was brief but telling.

"Tough loss," he said. "Doesn't look good."

Blackhawks' Rozsival leaves game with leg injury

Thursday, 05.07.2015 / 11:04 PM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

NHL.com

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival left Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Minnesota Wild in the second period with a leg injury.

Rozsival was injured with 13:23 remaining after falling awkwardly. He was unable to put weight on his left leg and needed to be helped off the ice and to the locker room.


Blackhawks' Kane back playing at pre-injury level

Wednesday, 05.06.2015 / 5:16 PM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Corey Masisak - NHL.com Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- Patrick Kane's rapid recovery and return to superstar-level production after a fractured clavicle threatened to ruin his and the Chicago Blackhawks' season has been pretty remarkable.

That Kane insists he probably isn't operating at full capacity and can get better makes it even more remarkable.

Kane has scored four goals in the Blackhawks' Western Conference Second Round series against the Minnesota Wild, or as many as the Wild have in the three games, all Chicago victories.

The Wild will try to avoid being swept Thursday in Game 4 at Xcel Energy Center (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports).

"Sometimes you're not really playing as well as you think but the puck is going in the net," Kane said Tuesday. "It looks a lot better on the score sheet. I've had some good looks in this series where guys have gotten me good opportunities to some clear shots on net and I've been fortunate enough to see them go in.

"I think there is a lot of things [I] can do better, whether it is defensively or making strong plays with the puck or getting the puck more to create a little more. It is a tough series and you have to be patient in this series. You have to think about that too."

Closer Look: Hawks' Toews blanketing Wild's Parise

Wednesday, 05.06.2015 / 3:30 PM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Evan Sporer - NHL.com Staff Writer

Wherever Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise goes, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews likely will follow.

Through the first two games of the Western Conference Second Round series between the Wild and Blackhawks, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville deployed Toews' line against Parise's line on most opportunities.

It's why Toews played against Parise for 18:44 of Parise's 30:23 of even-strength ice time in the first two games at United Center, third-most among Chicago forwards, according to datarink.com. The only Chicago forwards who played more frequently against Parise, right wing Marian Hossa and left wing Brandon Saad, are Toews' linemates.

Wild, down 3-0, focused on Game 4, one at a time

Wednesday, 05.06.2015 / 2:31 PM / Blackhawks vs Wild - 2015 SCP Second Round

Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild will look to draw upon their experiences from the regular season as they try to become the fifth team in NHL history to win a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series after trailing 3-0.

With the Chicago Blackhawks in firm control of this Western Conference Second Round series, the Wild have rallied around a common theme from mid-January: They've been here before.

On Jan. 14, under .500 and in last place in the Central Divison, the Wild traded for goaltender Devan Dubnyk; they finished the regular season 28-9-3 to make the playoffs.

Now the Wild will need to rally one more time to join the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings as teams to climb out of a 3-0 series hole in the past six years. The Kings did so in the first round against the San Jose Sharks and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The others to do it are the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Detroit Red Wings.

Game 4 is Thursday at Xcel Energy Center (9:30 ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports 2).

"I think we can draw from how we did it," Wild forward Kyle Brodziak said. "I think when we were facing what we were facing in the middle of January, if we would've at that point looked at the big picture, I think it would've probably seemed pretty daunting to come back. But I think the way we went about it was important. We just set everything else aside and took it one game at a time.

"When you sit back and you look at the big picture of everything, then you start thinking, you get the negative thoughts of how daunting a task it is. And if you're able to find a way to keep your focus on one thing at a time I think it makes it a little easier for everybody."

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