The Chicago Blackhawks dispatched the St. Louis Blues much like the way a body dispatches a St. Paul sandwich: quickly. Their reward is facing the Minnesota Wild. The wannabe North Stars eliminated the defensively inept Colorado Avalanche, who despite winning the newly arranged Central Division, regressed in time for when the lights shone brightest upon them.
The St. Louis Blues had the expectations of winning their first Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history, but failed to address a glaring need for legitimate scoring. When the going got tough, the Blues did what they do best: curl up into a ball and shake in fear.
The Blues gave up a lot to acquire goalie Ryan Miller and Steve Ott, and neither did much of anything. The Blues have a few extremely talented players on the roster, but look for general manager Doug Armstrong to push hard for a top line scorer and goaltender, as a rich contract for Miller would be ill-advised.
Colorado was the feel-good story of the NHL season. Led by woman-beater Patrick Roy and goaltender Semyon Varlamov, the Avalanche overachieved while depending on luck and getting away with poor possession stats. The talent is there, but work has to be done before this team is considered a threat for an extended period of time. For further insight into the regression of the Avs, check out Jen LC (@RegressedPDO) and Extra Skater (@ExtraSkater) for more info. Both are more than willing to help with any questions you would have.
The Minnesota Wild is not the same team from 2013 that was steamrolled by the eventual Cup Champs from Chicago.
In the mix now are Matt Moulson, Nino Niederreiter, and rookie Mikael Granlund. Moulson and Nino were acquired in separate trades over the past 10 months, and Granlund is a draft pick who has been on a tear since the Winter Olympics started in February. The familiar faces are Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who the Wild brought in prior to the 2012-13 lockout for mega dollars. Wild coach Mike Yeo has been emptying Suter’s tank by playing him between 27-32 minutes per game since his arrival, and Parise has been scoring, but not necessarily at the pace most fans expected for the money he was given.
Jason Pominville was brought in prior to last season’s trade deadline, and has been the most consistent scorer for Minnesota. His success could have a large say in how well the Wild perform nightly against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The x-factor for Minnesota is whoever is in net.
Darcy Kuemper was injured in game seven against Colorado, and was pulled in the third period. The slightly-off Ilya Bryzgalov took over, making one save and getting the win. Screwy as it is, that win could be huge for the Bryzgalov, as it may be his last of the season. Colorado did not get rubber to the net once he took over. A cold goalie in a high pressure situation should’ve had the Avs players salivating. If Kuemper is out for any of the games against the Hawks, Bryzgalov is going to have to play perfect hockey. The Wild defense has been suspect past Suter for a good portion of this season. Jonas Brodin has taken a step back after an excellent rookie season. Jared Spurgeon’s defense has been covered by his offense. His scoring has been crucial for the Wild as of late.
Look for the Chicago Blackhawks to win in no more than six games.
Minnesota played a patient game against a high-powered Colorado offense and won by taking advantage of a sketchy defense. Chicago’s defenders are a class or three above what the Avs put on the ice, and the checking forwards for the Hawks are spread out throughout their lines and contributing on the score sheet and in their zone.
I could not be more excited that the Wild took out an overrated team like the Avalanche. I will also be excited when the Wild become another footnote on Chicago’s path to the Stanley Cup Final.
Follow Jeff on Twitter @sckih_ffej for more sports hot takes. Jeff is also a production assistant at 120 Sports (@120Sports).