wise money would be on a scoring draw. | Forum
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Oct 4 '17
The Minnesota Wild surprised the heavily-favored Chicago Blackhawks with a shutout victory in Game 3. Ozzie Newsome Jersey . The Wild hope to repeat that success and tie the Western Conference semifinals at two games apiece when they host the defending Stanley Cup champions in Fridays Game 4 from Xcel Energy Center. Watch the game on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. After losing the first two games of this best-of-seven set in Chicago by a combined 9-3 margin, Minnesota answered with Tuesdays 4-0 victory on home ice. Game 3 was scoreless after 40 minutes, but the Wild rode a strong third period to their first win of the series. Minnesota was able to get in the win column thanks to third-period goals from Mikael Granlund -- who scored twice -- Zach Parise and Erik Haula. Ilya Bryzgalov also made 19 saves for his first playoff shutout in eight years. "Happy to get the win and happy for a lot of our guys," said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. "Whether its Bryz, whether its our big guys, they all did well tonight and its good to see. Now we need to build on this and even the series." Minnesota is in the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. The club made it to the Western Conference finals in 2003, then lost its next three postseason series before downing Colorado in seven games in this springs opening round. The Wild have won three straight home games and are 4-1 as the host this postseason. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, hope to bounce back in Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in this series. A victory tonight for Chicago would give the club a chance to close the set out Sunday on home ice. Corey Crawford gave up three goals on 17 shots for the Blackhawks, who had won six straight games before Tuesdays setback. Chicago had been perfect since falling behind 2-0 to St. Louis in the opening round. "I didnt mind our first 40 minutes, but when they got that goal to start the third it got the crowd electrified," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "We played the right way but theyre as tight a defensive team as were going to play here. Chances are going to be low and we have to work with that." The game was scoreless going into the third, but the Wild struck quickly to take a 1-0 lead. Haula scored off a nice saucer pass from Justin Fontaine at 1:41 of the third. Granlund scored his first goal less than three minutes later. The score stayed 2-0 until Parise tallied on the power play with 2:35 left. Granlund followed with an empty-netter with 1:17 remaining to seal the victory. "It was a tough game because were playing a really good team," said Granlund. "After the first goal things seemed to open up a bit. Its a new series again. Well enjoy this and come back ready for Friday." Bryzgalov only had to make four saves in the third for his fourth playoff shutout and first since May 7, 2006 with Anaheim. Minnesota expects to get Matt Cooke back for Game 4 as the controversial forward has completed a seven-game suspension for delivering a knee-on-knee hit against Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie in Game 3 of the opening-round series. Cooke had one assists in three games before getting punished for the hit, which knocked Barrie out for the remainder of the playoffs. In injury news for Chicago, center Andrew Shaw has missed two straight contests after exiting Game 1 with a lower-body injury and will sit out Friday as well. Jeremy Morin replaced Shaw in the lineup for Game 2, but was a healthy scratch on Tuesday when Brandon Bollig skated in his place. Defenseman Nick Leddy was a healthy scratch in Game 3 when veteran Sheldon Brookbank took his place in the lineup, but Leddy will be back on the ice Friday. Kenny Britt Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Briean Boddy-Calhoun Jersey . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win.Toronto FC enter their busiest month of the Major League Soccer season sitting in a great position. With 20 points from their first 12 matches they are fourth in the Eastern Conference. They are within striking distance of the summit, with multiple games in hand on the teams above them as they head to the Windy City to face the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night, live on TSN and TSN Radio 1050. The Reds conceded a late goal to drop a couple of points in New York on Friday in their first game back from the World Cup break, but the 2-2 draw at Red Bull Arena extended their unbeaten run to five matches, their longest run without a defeat in almost two years. It is six years since the only other time Toronto FC managed to take 20 points from their first 12 matches. Last year it took until their 22nd match to reach that mark. So there is much to be positive about as the Reds look to climb the standings during a hectic month ahead. The Form: During their five match unbeaten run, Toronto FC have won three home games and drawn twice away from home. Both of their ties on the road came against teams that are expected to be challenging for the playoffs come the end of the season. First, they showed resilience to fight back late in the game despite being a man down at defending champions Sporting Kansas City, and then last Friday the late goal went against them as they drew 2-2 in New York. For far too many seasons in Major League Soccer, Toronto FC have traveled away and shown very little ability to collect points. But things have changed. Yes there have been a couple of dismal days this season like the defeat at Real Salt Lake, but there have also been wins at Seattle and Columbus as well as the recent draws. This is a team that now has the quality and belief to go anywhere in MLS and get a positive result. The Big Question: Will Jermain Defoe keep scoring? Defoe now has eight goals in nine MLS appearances and theres no reason to believe his goal-scoring touch will disappear anytime soon. Toronto FC paid mega bucks to sign him from Tottenham Hotspur in January, and so far Defoe has been worth every cent. His movement and instinct in-front of goal is as good as any other player in Major League Soccer. He took his goal superbly against New York Red Bulls and has now scored in each of his last three matches. He has five goals in his last five MLS games. With Defoe on the pitch, Toronto FC are in every game. The Lineup: With Gilberto struggling with a hip flexor injury, it coulld be an unchanged lineup for Ryan Nelsens men. Myles Garrett Jersey. . The Brazilian seems to be the only injury concern for Nelsen right now, and until Michael Bradley returns from the World Cup, the eleven against New York is pretty much as strong as it gets for Toronto. Dominic Oduro made his first start for the club against the Red Bulls following his move from Columbus and is likely to start against his former team. Oduro looked lively for the Reds and set up Defoe for TFCs first goal. With Collen Warner, Jonathan Osorio and Jackson completing the midfield, there is plenty of MLS experience. The mid-season additions of Warner and Oduro have really strengthened the Reds midfield. With Gilberto expected to miss out, Defoe and Moore should once again start as the pairing up front. The Opposition: Under new head coach Frank Yallop, it has been a slow start to the season for Chicago Fire. The former Canadian international joined the Fire at the end of last season but his side has found it tough to win games in the opening quarter of the year. They havent lost many, but they head into Wednesdays game sitting bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Fire have secured 14 points from 14 matches, with just two wins, but they have drawn eight times. They lost their final match before the World Cup break 3-2 at home to Seattle Sounders, and will now be without defender Jon Kennedy Hurtado who was sent off in that match. Chicago are without a win in their last four matches since securing impressive victories at New York (5-4) and home to Sporting KC (2-1). Former Toronto FC forward Quincy Amarikwa is having a good season and is the Fires joint leading scorer along with rookie Harry Ship, who scored both goals in the loss to Seattle. Yallops team can also call upon Major League Soccers reigning MVP Mike Magee. The Odds: The history books are on Chicagos side. Toronto FC are without a win in their last eight matches against the Fire dating back to May 2010, and the Reds have never won in Chicago on their seven previous visits. In fact, in 16 all-time meetings, TFC have won just three times. But if there was ever a time for Toronto to put things right in Chicago, it is now. Torontos road form is much improved over past seasons and the Fire have been inconsistent so far this season. However, the wise money would be on a scoring draw. Where To Watch: Join me with Jason de Vos and Kara Lang for Chicago Fire against Toronto FC live on TSN on Wednesday at 8:30pm ET, 5:30pm PT. 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