The Chicago Blackhawks will be down a couple players when they open up their Stanley Cup quest on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild, as forward Dave Bolland and goaltender Ray Emery will not be in the lineup for Game 1.
According to ESPN.com, the two players will be out for game one, including Emery, who helped the Blackhawks win the trophy for allowing the least amount of goals this season with Corey Crawford with 102. The team is matched up against the Minnesota Wild for the first round as the number one seed and the Blackhawks are entering the postseason with momentum.
The Wild beat out the Blue Jackets for the final seed and are behind the Detroit Red Wings, who were able to make it in without snapping their two decade playoff streak. Bolland has been out for three games after suffering a lower body injury and the team will need his production in the playoffs after he missed 13 games, while he scored seven goals and seven assists in 35 games. Bolland was knocked out against the Canucks and Emery is also out after suffering a similar injury against the Oilers on Wednesday.
He has been excellent for the team this year, going He is 17-1-0 with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage with Corey Crawford, who will get the start. Crawford went 19-5-5 with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage and will be the primary goalie for Chicago heading into the playoffs and the team also brought in Henrik Karlsson as a backup. The series will start on NBC Sports on Tuesday and the other series include the Penguins and Islanders as well as the Ducks and Red Wings, Montreal and Ottawa will go at it, while the Rangers and Caps will play for the third straight season.
