ESPN

CHICAGO -- Here’s a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 2-1 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild at the United Center on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

How it happened: Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell continued to be a playoff star as he scored the game-winner in overtime off a pass from Viktor Stalberg. It was Bickell’s fifth playoff goal in the past three seasons. The eighth-seeded Wild initially shocked the sold-out Blackhawks crowd by scoring on their first shot of the game. The Wild went ahead 1-0 when Cal Clutterbuck beat Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford from the left circle at 4:48 of the first period. Crawford bounced back from the early goal and stopped the Wild’s next 26 shots. The Blackhawks evened the game at 1-1 when Patrick Kane dished the puck off to Marian Hossa on the rush, and Hossa finished from the left circle at 2:06 of the second period. Wild goaltender Josh Harding replaced Niklas Backstrom as the team’s starter just before the game. Harding, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year, played in five games during the regular season. He made 36 saves.

Player of the game: Harding stepped up in a difficult situation. He hadn’t started since Jan. 30 and found out just before Tuesday’s game he was going to have to replace Backstrom. In his last start, which also happened to be against the Blackhawks, he allowed two goals on four shots and was pulled from the game.

What it means: The Blackhawks and Wild played in some tight games during the regular season, and that carried over into their first game of the playoffs. Two of the teams’ three regular-season games were decided by one goal. Both were also two of the top teams in the league in one-goal games. The Blackhawks were 19-3-5 in one-goal games in the regular season, and the Wild were 13-5-3. The Wild proved they’re not going to allow the Blackhawks to roll through the first round. The Wild kept themselves in the game most of the night by getting in the way of the Blackhawks’ shots. The Wild blocked 21 shots. The Blackhawks played in five overtime games in the first round last season and two in the opening round in 2011. Eight of the Blackhawks’ last nine playoff games dating back to 2011 have gone to overtime.

What’s next: Game 2 of the series will be held in Chicago on Friday. The series will then move to Minnesota for the following two games.

Barry Melrose previews the Blackhawks' first-round series against the Wild -- a team he doesn't think will put up much of a fight.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell tweeted at 6:30 a.m Tuesday, "This is where boys turn into men playoff time. #gameone."

Bickell was sharing with his 29,000-plus followers his excitement for Tuesday's Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Minnesota Wild series, but his tweet was also in a way a message to himself. Bickell has excelled in the playoffs the past two seasons, and he's out to do so again this year.

Bickell has scored as many goals as any Blackhawks player in the playoffs in the past two seasons. With four goals, he's tied for the team lead with Michael Frolik, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp. Bickell scored two goals in six games in the 2012 playoffs and had two goals and two assists in seven games in the 2011 playoffs.

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo had no problem stating his game plan to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in their first-round series that begins on Tuesday, but he understands the execution isn't as easy.

"It's pretty simple, we've got to be great at every aspect of our game, every player of our team," Yeo said after Tuesday's morning skate at the United Center. "The depth of their lineup, the strength of their game in all situations, there's no room for error on our part. That's obviously a tough challenge, but at the same time we like to think that when we've been sort of faced with those situations and when we've gone up against teams like that, it's helped to sharpen our focus, and we felt we've performed well in those situations."

(Read full post)

Good To Be President? The Stanley Cup playoffs begin Tuesday night with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Blackhawks hosting the Wild. But Chicago should beware. Three of the last four Presidents’ Trophy winners have lost in the first round (conference quarterfinals), and only one of the last nine went on to win the Stanley Cup (Detroit in 2008).

Can You Repeat That? The Kings begin their quest to become the first repeat Stanley Cup champion since the Red Wings in 1997 & 1998. The 13-season drought without a repeat winner in the NHL is the third-longest of its kind among the four major professional sports. The NBA had an 18-season drought from 1970-87, while MLB had a 14-season drought from 1979-92.

CHICAGO -- Minnesota Wild forward Jason Pominville will not play against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of their first-round series on Tuesday.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane unveiled the return of his playoff mullet, which includes three lines shaved on each side of his head, following Tuesday's morning skate in preparation for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild.

"I think it's fun," Kane said. "I think it's good for a laugh or two. It's something that's a little bit of a tradition since the start of the playoffs. I've had some fun with it, and I think a lot of people who follow the Blackhawks have had some fun with it, too. That's what it's really for."

The 24-year-old Kane began the tradition of shaping his hair into a mullet earlier in his career because he was unable to grow a playoff beard like his teammates. The mullet drew plenty of attention during the Blackhawks' run to the 2010 Stanley Cup. He did it again in 2011 when the Blackhawks lost in the first round, and then he opted to grow a beard last season, which also ended with a first-round exit.

"I think I'm just going to try and grow the beard as well as I can," Kane said last season. "I'm a little older now, and I can do a little bit better than a couple years ago. I'll try to go with that. I don't think I'm going to do the mullet. It didn't really work last year, and the team has been playing well as of late so I didn't want to change up too much."

Kane won't be the only Blackhawks player sporting a mullet during this season's playoffs. Kane also got rookie forward Brandon Saad to do it. Saad was the first to get into the barber's chair and had two lines shaved on each side of his head.

"It's something he was talking about doing, and I said I'd do it with him," Saad said. "It wasn't too much convincing. It was something we just figured we'd do together. … We got the lines put together in too. I think he's got three, and I got two. I got to earn my stripes still so. I don't know. It's something fun we'll do, though."

The 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs begin Tuesday as 3 Western Conference quarterfinals series begin. The Kings, trying to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Red Wings in 1998, will take on the Blues. The Blackhawks, trying to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup after having the league’s most points in the regular season since the Red Wings in 2008, take on the Wild. And the Red Wings, making their 22nd straight playoff appearance, take on the Ducks.

2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarterfinals
8 Wild at 1 Blackhawks – Game 1 - 8 ET
* Blackhawks: went 2-0-1 vs Wild during regular season
* Blackhawks: won Presidents’ Trophy for league’s best regular season record (77 pts); a team has not won Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in same season since 2007-08 Red Wings
* Blackhawks: led all Western Conference teams in goals during regular season (155)
* Blackhawks: led NHL in team goals-against average during regular season (1.98)
* Wild: 1st playoff appearance since 2007-08 season
* Wild: have not won a playoff series since 2003 Western Conference Semifinals vs Canucks
* 1st-ever playoff series meeting between these teams

Playoff Results For Presidents’ Trophy Winners Since 2007-08
Winner Points Playoff Result
2012-13 Blackhawks 77 ?
2011-12 Canucks 111 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2010-11 Canucks 117 Lost, Cup Final
2009-10 Capitals 121 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2008-09 Sharks 117 Lost, Conf. Qtrs.
2007-08 Red Wings 115 Won Stanley Cup

5 Kings at 4 Blues – Game 1 – 8 ET
* Kings: trying to be 1st team to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions since Red Wings in 1997 & 1998
* Kings: 4th straight playoff appearance (team’s longest streak of playoff appearances since making playoffs 7 straight years from 1986-87 through 1992-93)
* Kings: went 3-0-0 vs Blues during regular season
* Kings: swept Blues in 2012 Conference Semifinals
* Blues: only 3rd playoff appearance in last 8 seasons (2nd straight playoff appearance)
* Blues: have won 2 of previous 3 playoff meetings vs Kings all-time

7 Red Wings at 2 Ducks – Game 1 – 10:30 ET
* Red Wings: 22nd straight playoff appearance (longest active postseason streak in the 4 major pro sports)
* Red Wings: went 2-1-0 vs Ducks during regular season
* Red Wings: 7 seed in team’s lowest seed since current playoff format was adopted in 1993-94 (are a 5 seed or lower for 3rd time in last 4 seasons)
* Henrik Zetterberg (DET): 3rd among active players in playoff goals (51)
* Ducks: only 2nd playoff appearance in last 4 seasons after making playoffs in 4 straight seasons from 2005-06 through 2008-09
* Ducks: 2 seed matches highest playoff seed in franchise history (2007 – won Stanley Cup that postseason)
* Ducks: led all Western Conference teams in power play percentage at 21.5 pct (4th overall)
* Red Wings have won 3 of 5 playoff series meetings vs Ducks all-time (Red Wings won last meeting in 2009 Conference Semifinals)

Longest Active Playoff Appearances Streaks
In The Four Major Pro Sports
NHL 22 Detroit Red Wings, 1990-91 to 2012-13
NBA 16 San Antonio Spurs, 1997-98 to 2012-13
NFL 5 Baltimore Ravens, 2008 to 2012
MLB 4 New York Yankees, 2009 to 2012

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks got by during the regular season without consistent power-play production.

They’re not so sure they can succeed in the playoffs without it.

One of the main reasons for the Blackhawks’ fear of lacking a strong play at this time of year is what happened in last season’s playoffs. The Blackhawks went 1-for-19 on the power play against the Phoenix Coyotes and suffered three one-goal losses on their way to being eliminated in six games.

“Special teams, we know we have to be better than the last time we played Phoenix last year,” Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa said on Monday. “If we don’t score on the power play, we need at least to get the momentum. Momentum is huge in the playoffs.”

(Read full post)

Chicago Blackhawks rookie forward Drew LeBlanc was one of five players named to the 2013 U.S. Men’s National Team on Monday.

LeBlanc, who is from Duluth, Minn., signed with the Blackhawks on April 12 after completing his senior season at St. Cloud State. He won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which is given to the most outstanding NCAA player, and had 13 goals and 37 assists in 42 games for St. Cloud State this season. He played two games for the Blackhawks in the regular season.

The U.S. Men’s National Team now has 23 players on its roster leading up to the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship, which will be held May 3-19 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman is one of eight people on the national team advisory group.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane felt he had something to prove this regular season, and he went out and did it by leading the Blackhawks with 55 points.

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs have arrived, Kane is out to prove something again.

Kane has scored just one goal in 13 playoff games in the past two seasons. His lack of playoff production came after two seasons in which he dominated in the playoffs. He had nine goals and five assists in 16 games in 2009 and 10 goals and 18 assists in 22 games in 2010.

(Read full post)

Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane says he feels fresh entering the playoffs and is confident in the team after its past two first-round exits.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks view this season's playoffs as a way of redeeming themselves from first-round exits the past two years.

"I think obviously even after the Vancouver series two years ago we were frustrated with the way things ended up," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said on Monday. "Now two years removed, we don't think we can be hungrier to have success. I think we just need to show that in our game."

The Blackhawks are focused on their upcoming first-round series, which begins Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild. But with so many players having experienced the last two seasons which ended with first-round losses to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2012 and the Canucks in 2011, they certainly haven't forgotten about what happened.

(Read full post)

Using its simulation engine, EA Sports declared the New York Rangers as its official prediction for Stanley Cup champions. EA has the Blueshirts getting past the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

For the Rangers, it'd be the fifth Stanley Cup title in franchise history and first since the 1993-94 season. Brad Richards won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the second playoff MVP award of his career. He became the sixth player to win at least two Conn Smythes, joining Patrick Roy (3), Wayne Gretzky (2), Mario Lemieux (2), Bobby Orr (2) and Bernie Parent (2).

Read the entire story here.

Editor's note: These rankings are based on player production in terms of Hockey Prospectus' GVT valuation metric. If you are unfamiliar with GVT and how it works, you can find more here.

Every Monday during the season, Prospectus provided updated Player Power Rankings for the top 10 skaters and top five goalies in the NHL based on HP's proprietary value metric, GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including defense and the shootout.

The 2012-13 season featured the tightest grouping of top players (from a rankings perspective) in recent memory. It was Sidney Crosby and everyone else until Game 36 of the season, when Crosby's jaw injury opened up the MVP race. The race for MVP among skaters was so tight that the league's top scorer, Martin St. Louis, does not even appear in the top 10 GVT list (he finished 13th), while Jonathan Toews, who tops our list, ranked 13th in points.

Toews, Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Patrick Kane, all of whom finished within 0.6 GVT of each other, each has a solid claim to being the non-goaltending MVP this season.

On the goaltending side, Craig Anderson was the best goaltender by a fair amount for the first five weeks of the season. However, he got injured and missed six weeks, and was ultimately good but not spectacular upon his return. Familiar faces such as Henrik Lundqvist, Tuukka Rask and Antti Niemi were among the contenders for best goaltender, but ultimately it was journeyman Sergei Bobrovsky, with only 83 games of NHL experience heading into this season, who emerged as the league's best goaltender in 2013.

Read the entire story here.