Chicago Blackhawks Gameday Buzz ...

The Second Round series between the Blackhawks and Wild changes venues on Tuesday night, taking Games 3 and 4 to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Blackhawks went just 1-2-0 on Minnesota’s home ice during the 2013-14 regular season, but they did outscore the Wild 9-7 in the those three games. The teams split the two Minnesota matchups in their 2013 Stanley Cup Playoff series; the Wild took a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3, and the Blackhawks won a 3-0 shutout decision in Game 4.



Yet again, Bryan Bickell is proving his value as a playoff performer; the big winger collected a playoff career-high three points (1G, 2A) in Sunday’s victory, extending his point streak to five games (5G, 3A) and tying him for the postseason lead with five goals. The Orono, Ontario, native has multiple points in six of his 46 career playoff games (13.0 percent), compared to nine such performances in 279 regular-season contests (3.2 percent).



Entering Game 2, Brandon Saad had been relatively quiet in the 2014 playoffs, recording just two assists in the five games preceeding Sunday’s matchup. He broke out in a major way in Game 2, scoring two goals—his first in 19 games, dating back to the regular season—including the game-winner. It also marked the 21-year-old’s first multi-point playoff game, and he was named Third Star of the Game.

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=718011