The Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks are playing on the NHL playoffs schedule in round 2 for Game 2 on Sunday and the matchup has the Hawks up 1-0 in the series and now the two teams meet at the United Center at 3 pm ET and the game is streaming online from the NBC Sports Live Extra website and has the Stanley Cup champions looking to go up 2-0 in the western conference second round.
Patrick Kane led the way with two goals as the Blackhawks dominated to take an early lead in the series and they are looking very good heading into the second round and have now won five games in a row. The Blackhawks have not lost a game in some time and they come into the matchup in Game 2 playing very well, beating the Blues four straight times after losing the first two to advance and now they have taken the lead in this series over Minnesota and while they will not be at full strength since Andrew Shaw will not be in the lineup for the Blackhawks, the team is taking that Stanley Cup form again.
The team had to rally multiple times last season in the playoffs, including against the Detroit Red Wings and after doing that to the Blues in the first round, Chicago is playing with confidence and goalie Corey Crawford has been excellent. Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp have been putting together good shifts and Kane has been able to find the back of the net on a consistent basis and even without Shaw in the lineup the Blackhawks should be able to take the second game at home. Zach Parise has 11 points going into the game with eight assists and he needs to step up, while Kane comes in leading the Hawks in points and goals while Brent Seabrook has been a playmaker with six assists.
Kane was clutch in the third period and scored two goals for the Blackhawks and he has been key for the team during this winning streak and now they have the chance to advance to the western conference finals and they could take a 2-0 series lead in the matchup. The Rangers and Penguins are the other game on Sunday and that has New York up 1-0 in the series after their overtime win from a goal by Derek Brassard and Brad Richards comes into the game leading the team in points, while Evgeni Malkin is tops for the Penguins.
The Rangers are in good position after already guaranteeing a split in the first two games, as the third of the series comes back to back and that will mean a travel night and then another game at Madison Square Garden on Monday. The Blackhawks and the Wild next play on Tuesday in Minnesota and that will be at 9 pm ET for Game 3 and that will also have the third game between the Bruins and Canadiens and that series is tied 1-1.