Blackhawks vs. Wild: Playoff preview, picks

Chicago Blackhawks centre Jonathan Toews, left, falls as Minnesota Wild left wing Jason Zucker skates with the puck during the teams' March 5 tilt.

Ryan Porth April 30, 2013, 9:01 AM

(1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (8) Minnesota Wild

Season series: Blackhawks won 2-0-1

They have a history: Since the Wild joined the NHL in 2000, these two teams have not met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, Chicago and Minnesota did meet five times before the North Stars moved to Dallas. Chicago came out on top in three of those five series against the North Stars.

For the Blackhawks to win: The Blackhawks have had since the season’s first half to prepare for the playoffs, as their record-setting 24-game streak without a regulation loss essentially clinched a playoff spot at the season’s midway point. Going up against a streaky Minnesota club, the Blackhawks will need their depth to be their biggest advantage, like it has been all season; the Wild do not match up well in that sense. That being said, Chicago can’t assume it’s going to be a cakewalk against No. 8-seeded Minnesota, who does possess some top talent that has experience – namely Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Ryan Suter. If the ‘Hawks bring their A-game and all four lines are clicking, they shouldn’t have a problem with Minnesota.

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For the Wild to win: The common theme for all 8-versus-1 upsets is strong goaltending from the underdog. Minnesota will not win this series without a heroic performance from Niklas Backstrom. The 35-year-old free-agent-to-be will need to be consistent, rock-solid under pressure and may need to steal a couple games. Parise and Suter are great players, but they obviously can’t do it all alone. Youngsters like Jonas Brodin and Charlie Coyle must step up. It wasn’t long ago that Minnesota was leading the Northwest Division, so they have the ability to make this series interesting. But when you take out a seven-game winning streak in March, this is a mediocre group that otherwise hasn’t won more than two games in a row. They backed into the playoffs going 5-8-1 down the stretch.

Matchup to watch: Ryan Suter vs. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. How will the $98-million defenceman hold up logging major minutes against Chicago’s crop of skilled forwards? Suter led the NHL in minutes played this season and could see more than 30 minutes a night against Toews and/or Kane, no matter which team has the last change.

Big question: Can Minnesota rebound from a rough month of April and give heavily favoured Chicago all they can handle?

Best bet: Blackhawks in five.