The Chicago Blackhawks locked down the Wild, to go up 2-0 in their series, and the Pittsburgh Penguins controlled play against the New York Rangers, evening their series at one game apiece.
Kemba Walker Jersey . Notes on Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad, Matt Moulson, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury and more. BLACKHAWKS LOCK DOWN WILD The Chicago Blackhawks stifled the Minnesota Wild on the way to a 4-1 win in Game Two, taking a 2-0 series lead. LW Bryan Bickell picked up a goal and two assists to lead the Blackhawks attack and RW Marian Hossa had three assists. LW Brandon Saad also had a pair of goals for the Blackhawks and the performance of supporting cast wingers like Bickell and Saad reminded me of the recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times by Mark Lazerus, about Chicagos use of analytics. The article, without getting into specifics, discusses how the Blackhawks use all kinds of data in their player evaluation and one of the easiest ways to dismiss Chicagos use of analytics is that, hey, they have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews -- its not analytics that make them a good team. Of course elite players matter more than a teams analytical approach, and Toews and Kane are great, but they are just two players. The rest of the roster still needs to be filled out and, for Chicago, that includes big-bodied wingers like Saad and Bickell. Bickell, who was a playoff hero last season, scoring nine goals and 17 points in 23 games as the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, finished the 2013-2014 regular season with 11 goals and 15 points in 59 games, so expectations were relatively low coming into this postseason. However, digging a little deeper into the numbers, we see that Bickell had a 58.0% Corsi during the regular season (second among Blackhawks forwards, behind Jonathan Toews) and was among the unluckiest forwards in the league with a 95.6% PDO (on-ice shooting plus save percentage); these underlying statistics suggested that Bickell might be due for better results and, with five goals and eight points in this years playoffs, hes getting better results. Before scoring two goals, including an empty-netter, Sunday, Saad had one goal in 32 career playoff games. The 21-year-old is also a strong possession player, and has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in eight playoff games this year. For a team that has Toews, Kane, Hossa and Patrick Sharp, getting big production out of Bickell and Saad is just about unfair. A little more on the Blackhawks forward lines: with Andrew Shaw hurt and Brandon Bollig scratched, the Blackhawks returned Kris Versteeg and Jeremy Morin to the lineup. Ben Smith had a rough game, in terms of puck possession, on for 29.4% (10 for, 24 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when he was on the ice. The Blackhawks, without Smith on the ice, were getting 62.0% (31 for, 19 against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With Jonathan Toews on the ice, the Blackhawks had 73.7% (14 for, five against) of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With Toews off the ice, the Blackhawks had only 41.5% of the shot attempts, though there were obviously some score effects at play, since Chicago dominated possession in score close situations. The Wild have been having trouble generating offence against Chicago. Blackhawks G Corey Crawford stopped 18 of Minnesotas 19 shots Sunday, and hes stopped 48 of 51 (.941 SV%) in the first two games of this series. One of the more notable problem areas in the lineup for the Wild is LW Matt Moulson, who has one goal (on 20 shots) and one assist in nine playoff games and has, effectively, been taken out of an offensive role. No Wild player had a lower percentage of offensive zone starts in Game Two, but this one example stands in contrast to the Blackhawks forward depth. This wasnt expected to be a particularly close series and, through two games, the Blackhawks are living up to their favoured status. The Wild will have to find a way, perhaps with better matchups at home, to get more chances or else this could be short work for Chicago. PENGUINS BLANK RANGERS The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated play against the New York Rangers in Game Two, winning 3-0 and evening the series at one game apiece. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 22 shots he faced, and that gives him a .914 save percentage (224 saves on 245 shots) in the playoffs -- his highest playoff save percentage since 2007-2008. D Kris Letang had an outstanding game for the Penguins, with a goal and two assists, while playing 25:35; a bit of a break through for an offensive defenceman who had one point in the previous seven playoff games. Penguins C Sidney Crosby didnt record a point, but was on top of his game, generating a game-high 10 shot attempts and on the ice for 74.1% (20 for, seven against) of 5-on-5 shot attempts. Marcel Goc was the possession ace for Pittsburgh in Game Two, on for 12 shot attempts for and just two against (85.7%). The only Rangers line to finish on the right side of the possession ledger -- and just barely (10 for, nine against) -- was the trio of Brad Richards, Carl Hagelin and Daniel Carcillo. On the other hand, the line of Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot was on for less than 15% of 5-on-5 shot attempts, while D Ryan McDonagh was on the ice for four attempts for and 19 against (17.4%). The Rangers have played four games in the past six days and looked fatigued in Game Two. With Game Three going Monday night, there isnt much time for rest, but they will need to use whatever they can on home ice to tilt the ice back in their favour. The way Game Two played out, the Penguins controlled play even more decisively than the final score indicated and the Rangers could fall behind in this series while they struggle with a more condensed schedule than their opponents. Scott Cullen can be reached at
Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
Adam Morrison Jersey . The Oilers will try to get back in the win column on Monday when they continue a four-game road trip with a battle against the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton won its third straight game last Wednesday against visiting San Jose, beating the Sharks 3-0 as Scrivens stopped 59 shots to set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout.
Hornets Jerseys 2021 .com) - Joe Pavelski scored twice to lead the San Jose Sharks in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers to split a home-and-home set.DENVER - Cody Zeller fueled the fast start that Charlotte used to finish off the struggling Denver Nuggets.Zeller scored a career-best 21 points, including 14 in the first quarter, and Charlotte went on to rout Denver 104-86 on Saturday night.I got a lot of easy ones off of transition, said Zeller, who had several uncontested dunks early when the Nuggets failed to hustle back on defence. We wanted to come out early, because they havent won recently, and not give them any hope. Al Jefferson and Jason Maxiell added 14 points apiece for the Hornets, who have won 10 of their last 13 games.They have held their opponents to under 100 points in 12 of those games. And their solid play has continued in the absence of Kemba Walker, who underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and will be out at least six weeks.The defence has really picked up in the last month and thats why were winning, Zeller said. Als playing well right now, a lot of guys have stepped up with Kemba out. Hopefully we can keep this going.Danilo Gallinaris 15 points led the Nuggets, who were dealt a blow before the game. Star forward Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur, a key reserve, were both held out because of illness.We missed em tonight, said the Nuggets Ty Lawson.But he conceded the teams problems go much deeper.You cant put your finger on one thing, Lawson said. Theres so many things that need to be corrected. Its tough. Its tough right now. Were consistently inconsistent. I feel sorry for the fans. We shouldnt play like that in front of them.The Hornets ran circles around the Nuggets who were on the floor.We got a break with no Faried and Arthur but I liked our readiness, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. In the first half we were on top of tthings.
Percy Miller Jersey. .Charlotte began pulling away with a 12-0 burst in the last 3:05 of the first quarter. Zeller had six points in the stretch including a pair of dunks.By halftime, the Hornets had opened a 32-point lead. The Nuggets lost for the ninth time in 10 games, and it was Denvers fourth loss in a row to the Hornets, who swept the season series for a second year in a row.In one second-quarter stretch, Charlotte scored 14 unanswered points and closed the last 2:29 with a 10-4 flurry that included an alley-oop dunk by Kidd-Gilchrist off a lob from Gary Neal. One of Denvers 12 turnovers ignited the flashy fast break, and moments later, the crowd showered the Nuggets with boos as they trudged into the locker room at the break.Not really a whole lot to say other than were not very good right now. Down 32 in the first half to this team, at home, is not acceptable, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. I have to do a better job, everybody else has to do a better job.TIP-INSHornets: Marvin Williams was ruled out for a second straight game because of a concussion. ... The Hornets beat a Western Conference team on the road for only the second time in 10 games this season. ... Zellers previous scoring high was 20 points against Boston on Jan. 5.Nuggets: JaVale McGee is gradually working his way back into form from the lower leg strain that sidelined him for seven weeks. In his second game back, he shook off a missed dunk to start the night and finished with eight points in just under 16 minutes of play. ... The Nuggets 30-point first half wasnt their worst this season, but it was close. They were held to 28 first-half points two weeks ago by Golden State.UP NEXTHornets: At Washington on Monday.Nuggets: At Philadelphia on Tuesday. ' ' '