The Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild are set for Game 3 of the western conference second round in the NHL playoffs and the hockey matchup is on the NBC Sports Network and NBCSN Live Extra website and is from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and is he for the Wild, as they do not want to go down 3-0 in the series as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise take the ice.
The Blackhawks come in as the leading team at 2-0 in the series after winning both games at home and now they will head to Minnesota for the next two matchups. This win is crucial for the Wild, as they are down by two games and they do not want to go down 3-0 with the danger of getting swept. The Blackhawks come into the game after getting a 4-1 win in the last matchup and now they are looking to go up three games in the series.
The Blackhawks could be the favorites in the western conference along with the Ducks, as the team is the only recent one left in the playoffs that has won a Stanley Cup. The Penguins are out of the playoffs after losing to the Rangers, while the Bruins and Kings are not in the playoffs. The Blackhawks come in after ranking second in the league in goals against this season and they were ranked 17th in goals per game.
Corey Crawford and Antti Raanta have split time and Crawford came back and had strong performance for the team and he could be key moving forward. Patrick Kane scored two goals in the Blackhawks' 4-1 win over the Wild and now the team has the chance to really put it to Minnesota with a third win in a row. The first game in the series was wild, as the Blackhawks had a 3-0 lead and gave that up, but they ended up winning the game with Teuvo Teravainen's first career playoff goal.
The Wild come into the game looking to salvage the series and they need their top line to start performing, as they have not looked good over the last stretch of play. The team came back from a lead by the Blackhawks in Game 1 and they were dominated in Game 2 and now they have to find a way to win. The Wild come in after having the best penalty kill in the league during the season and they need that unit to step up. The team also ranked in the top 12 in scoring and in the top seven in goals allowed per game.
Check here for the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild live coverage.
