ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sometimes we forget.
We forget, that is, just how good a defensive team the Chicago Blackhawks can be when they put their minds to it. All that skill the Hawks can flash tends to be a bit blinding, after all.
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Well, the Blackhawks have served up a cold, calculating reminder of their defensive abilities in recent days — one the Minnesota Wild won’t soon forget.
Including a nearly spotless 1-0 Chicago shutout of the Wild Tuesday night that gave the Hawks a 3-0 stranglehold on their Western Conference series, Joel Quenneville’s squad has surrendered just one goal in the last seven periods to Minnesota.
That’s a Minny team that had 18 goals in six first round games against St. Louis, the NHL’s fifth best defensive squad.
But after a wobbly first round (21 goals allowed to Nashville in six games) that saw starting goalie Corey Crawford replaced for a stint by backup Scott Darling, the Hawks have returned to defensive basics in the second round and, not surprisingly, Crawford has also returned to form.
Aside from a messy second period in Game 1 in which the Hawks gave up three goals, Minnesota has only scored one other goal over the other 160 minutes played.
“I don’t like to say that’s the best we can play,” said Chicago defenceman Duncan Keith after Crawford’s 30-save shutout performance in Game 3. “There’s always room for improvement. I don’t think we’ve ever played a perfect game and we didn’t tonight. They had some chances. But at the same time, I think we played a good team game and had everybody going tonight.”
The Hawks have now won five out of their last six and have a death grip on the Wild.
“We came back from the dead once this season,” said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo, referring to the desperate straits in which he still was in before acquiring goalie Devan Dubnyk in mid-January. “We need character and belief.”
The one offensive element the Wild did have going — its power play — was also shut down in Game 3. At extra strength Minnesota was six for 17 (35.3 percent) going into the game, but the Hawks were a perfect three for three including a suffocating first period kill that took the hometown crowd out of the game early.
“Our defensive core is definitely underrated,” said Crawford. “They played hard tonight. Quick to pucks in the corner, off rebounds, off plays they put back in, our guys are jumping right on them and getting it out, especially in the last two minutes. We were getting to pucks first and that was key.”
For most of the night, it was Minnesota pressing, and the Hawks either repelling charges or keeping the Wild to one shot and no second attempts. When the home side did generate some better chances, Crawford closed the door, including a key breakaway stop on Mikael Granlund in the second period.
“I feel like we generated enough. I feel like every line had some looks, some Grade A scoring chances,” said Minnesota winger Jason Pominville, goalless in the series. “We’ve got to find a way to put one in.
“We did a lot of good things. Overall, we didn’t give up that much. Their goal was kind of a broken play. To their credit, that’s what they do, they stick with it. They’re a team that’s been good a capitalizing on their chances. So we’ve got to limit those.”
That Chicago goal came in the first period from Patrick Kane, who now has five in nine playoff games, seemingly unaffected by all that time he missed recovering from a broken collarbone in the second half.
“He’s just got that touch,” said Keith. “And he’s got all kinds of shots and dekes. He’s the type of guy who doesn’t need many chances to score.”
After that, the Hawks mostly defended, taking only 13 shots on Dubnyk in the Minnesota net over the final 40 minutes.
“The way the game was progressing, I just had to try and keep us one shot away,” said Dubnyk.
The Wild are now on the verge of being eliminated by Chicago for a third straight spring, and this time it will be largely because their offensive players simply haven’t come through. Zach Parise and Granlund scored in Game 1, but otherwise all the marquee forwards simply haven’t delivered.
Tomas Vanek, signed to a three-year, $19 million contract last summer, now hasn’t scored in 16 playoff games — nine with the Wild and seven last spring with Montreal. Chris Stewart didn’t play in Game 3 after tumbling hard into the boards in Game 2, while Mikko Koivu and Nino Neiderreiter have been held off the scoresheet.
Head coach Mike Yeo had hoped for a little nastiness to develop in Game 3 to put more emotion into the series, but none has developed in what has been a quiet, Lady Byng-like series with few scrums or violent moments.
Now, he’s running out of options. Even a win in Game 4 wouldn’t necessarily mean that much given that Minnesota is 0-7 in playoff matches played in Chicago.
“All we can do now is go win a hockey game,” said Dubnyk. “It’s the situation we’re in.”
