SET THE STAGE: 2013 Conference Quarterfinals, Game 2

By the time the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled around, the Blackhawks were laser-focused on completing one task.

"It was Stanley Cup or bust for that group," winger Patrick Sharp said. "We were that talented."

2013 REWIND

**REWIND**: Schedule and More Info

**FEATURE**: Bickell Sparks Momentum with OT Winner

**GALLERY**: Conf. Quarterfinals, Gm. 1

**WATCH**: One-on-One with Bickell

The Blackhawks had proven that with a magical regular season, reeling off an NHL-record 24 consecutive games without a loss in regulation to start the season and going to on finish the truncated 48-game schedule with a 36-7-5 record for the most points in the league.

"That was a lockout season so in January before the season had started we were kind of unsure what kind of group we had," Sharp said. "That was the year (Blackhawks Senior Vice President/General Manager) Stan Bowman kind of retooled the team and I think he deserves a lot of credit for restocking the cupboard, so to speak. So to start that season 24 games without a loss more than anything it kind of raised expectations and put a target on our back."

The first team to hone in on that target was the Wild, a Central Division rival with which the Blackhawks were very familiar.

"We knew we had a top team in the league but winning the Stanley Cup takes a whole lot of effort and a lot of good bounces along the way," Sharp said. "We also knew they had some veteran players that were going to pull through so we needed to win those first two games at the United Center, for sure."

Sharp helped that cause by scoring the first two of his five goals in the series to help the Blackhawks win Game 2 by the score of 5-2 and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

That performance highlights the latest installment of the Blackhawks' run to the 2013 Stanley Cup with Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals airing Tuesday at 4 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago.