The defending Stanley Cup champions will begin the second round on home ice, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Minnesota Wild at United Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Kerry Wood Jersey . Watch the Blackhawks vs. Wild live tonight on TSN2 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. This series is rematch of a 2013 postseason matchup, as the Wild were the Blackhawks first victim in their march to the Cup last year. Chicago knocked Minnesota out of the first round in five games, losing only Game 3 on the road and holding a 17-7 edge in scoring. That was the first playoff meeting between these clubs, but the Wild can lean on the fact they went 3-1-1 versus the Blackhawks this season, splitting two games in Chicago. Game 2 of this series also will be staged in the Windy City on Sunday afternoon. For a little while, the Blackhawks quest to repeat as NHL champions appeared as if it was going to come to an end with a first-round exit. Then the Blackhawks reminded everyone just whey they are coming off their second Stanley Cup in four years. It looked as if Chicagos inability to claim home-ice advantage in its quarterfinals matchup with the St. Louis Blues would be the difference, as the Blackhawks lost a pair of overtime decisions to begin the set. That included a triple-overtime setback in Game 1 at Scottrade Center and the fact that the Hawks followed up with another 4-3 overtime setback in Game 2 could have left the club with slumped shoulders going back to the Windy City. Instead of rolling over, the Blackhawks got a 34-save shutout from Corey Crawford to win Game 3 before Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews potted back-to- back overtime-winning goals in Games 4 and 5. Toews then started a four-goal barrage in the third period of Game 6s series-clinching 5-1 win. Toews showed why he wears the captains "C" on his jersey as all three of his goals in the series were game-winners and he matched defenseman and Norris Trophy nominee Duncan Keith for the club lead with seven points. Toews was one of six multi-goal scorers for the Blackhawks in the series, with Kane also potting three goals. Keith and fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook added two goals and Seabrook finished with six points despite missing three games due to suspension for a hit to the head in Game 2. As expected, the duo of Keith and Seabrook logged a ton of minutes. Keith was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes a game, while Seabrook averaged 27 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time. Hell need to maintain his discipline in Round 2. Chicago also had the best penalty kill percentage coming out of the first round, limiting St. Louis to two goals on 29 chances. Crawford, meanwhile, settled down after a rough start to keep the Blackhawks chances of becoming the first repeat champions since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings alive. Rocked for eight goals in the two losses, Crawford followed up his third career postseason shutout by yielding just six goals on 98 shots over the final three games. He ended the series with a 2.03 goals against average and .926 save percentage. The Wild survived Round 1 despite playing from behind seemingly the whole time during their quarterfinals matchup with the Central Division champion Colorado Avalanche. A road team did not win a game in the series until Minnesotas 5-4 victory in Game 7. In that contest, the Wild overcame four one-goal deficits, getting a game-tying goal with 2:27 left in regulation before Nino Niederreiters tally 5:02 into overtime. Niederreiters second goal of the game capped the latest comeback of the series for the Wild. They trailed 2-0 in the series after losing the first two on the road and then were behind 3-2 ahead of a Game 6 victory. Rookie netminder Darcy Kuemper was seen as the savior at the early portion of the series, relieving Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2 and going perfect with 14 saves. He then allowed just one goal in total in back-to-back home victories, including a defensive 22-save gem in Game 3. Like the rest of Minnesotas roster, Kuemper showed an ability to bounce back, following up a Game 5 defeat with a 21-save effort in the next game to extend the series. However, Kuemper was forced to exit Game 7 after 51 minutes of action due to an unknown injury and Bryzgalov had to make just one save in 13 minutes and 15 seconds of relief before Niederreiters goal. The injury will leave Bryzgalov as the starter for at least Game 1 of this series and he posted just a 4.25 goals against average and .826 save percentage in his three games that totaled 112:41 of ice time. John Curry, a 30-year-old journeyman, will suit up as Bryzgalovs backup. Curry has seen action in six career NHL games and none in the playoffs. Head coach Mike Yeo said that Kuemper is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury following Fridays morning skate. Minnesota has made it to the playoffs in both seasons since signing forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter to monster contracts and both were solid in Round 1. Parise had three goals and seven assists, tying him with three other players -- two of those on the Avalanche -- for the postseason lead in points. Mikko Koivu was second on the club with six points off a goal and five helpers. Suter, meanwhile, averaged 29:47 of ice time and had a goal with three assists to lead Wild defensemen in points. Thirteen different skaters scored a goal for the Wild against the Avalanche, with Charlie Coyle matching Parise for the team lead with three. Youngsters Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund added two each along with veteran Kyle Brodziak, while blueliners Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella also scored twice. Kuemper won his only start versus Chicago this season, stopping 33-of-34 shots faced at home in January, while Bryzgalov took a shootout loss in Chicago. Bryzgalov is 8-6-5 with a 2.51 GAA lifetime versus the Blackhawks. Crawford, meanwhile, went 2-2-0 with a 2.98 GAA in four games versus the Wild this season. Kane had three goals and two assists versus the Wild in 2013-14 Toews, though, was held to just a pair of assists. Parise had two goals against Chicago in the season series, while Suter had three assists and Granlund four helpers. Mark Grace Jersey . The 31-year-old Russian dominated the No. 3-ranked Ferrer throughout, breaking the defending champion and local favourite four times on the indoor hard court. Ian Happ Jersey .J. -- While Martin Brodeur wasnt willing to say he stole one for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost everyone else was.TORONTO – Three cities, 10 games, 10 days. The Blue Jays embark on the longest remaining road trip of the season having concluded a successful 5-2 homestand against Texas and Boston, two of the American Leagues weaker sisters. The fun begins at House of Horrors North (with deference paid to Tropicana Field, the Jays original House of Horrors), also known as Yankee Stadium, where Toronto is winless in its last 16 games dating back to an August 29, 2012 victory. On that day, J.A. Happ got the win in relief and CC Sabathia took the loss. Players insist they pay no mind to the skid in the Bronx. "Playing a team in our division thats right there with us, having said that the success or failures in New York, we just dont think about it," said closer Casey Janssen. "I know that the media loves to take this on but we just havent played well there. We can beat them at home. We can beat them on the road. We can. We just havent." "Those guys are aware of it but I dont know if you need to have a team meeting over it," said manager John Gibbons. "Go out and play harder? I dont know." There was no Curse of the Bambino. No billy goat has prevented the listless Cubs from reaching a World Series since 1945. There is no hex on the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, even if it feels like it. The coaches discuss the Yankee Stadium issue in meetings. "The bottom line is its always been a tough place to win anyway," said Gibbons. "I dont remember it being this difficult and its strange because weve always played pretty good at Fenway." Gibbons hinted hell make one change prior to Fridays game. The team wont take batting practice on the field, opting for the underneath cage instead. The skipper joked that he wants to avoid seeing the "Yankeeography" show the hometown team runs on its scoreboard during visitors batting practice. On a daily basis, the Yankees pump out content reliving one of the franchises numerous excellent decades or profiling one of clubs legendary players. The Blue Jays go to Boston for three games to start next week and follow that up with four games against the Astros in Houston. The non-waiver trade deadline, July 31, falls on the day the club arrives deep in the heart of Texas. The Jays will enter Yankee Stadium tied with New York for second in the American League East, three games behind Baltimmore for the division lead and a half-game ahead of Seattle for the second wild card spot. Alex Avila Jersey. Both Toronto and New York have won three straight games heading into their series. The Jays throw, in this order, Mark Buehrle, Drew Hutchison and J.A. Happ. The Yankees throw, in this order, Hiroki Kuroda, Shane Greene and Chase Whitley. Surely, the odds would suggest the Blue Jays will nip this Bronx skid in the bud. "Half these guys werent here to lose with us or turn it around," said Janssen. "When we walk in to any place we expect to win. Yankee Stadium is no different." STROMAN BRILLIANT AGAIN There isnt much to be said about Marcus Stroman. His pitching is doing the proverbial talking. The 23-year-old rookie tossed seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Thursday afternoons 8-0 win over the Red Sox, a victory which gave Toronto a three-out-of-four series victory. He teased a no-hitter through six complete. At that time, Stroman had thrown 91 pitches. Would manager John Gibbons have allowed Stroman to work into the ninth, likely at 120 pitches or more, had Shane Victorino not led off the seventh with a single? "Youll never know. Youll never know," joked Gibbons. "I think they would have let me go," said Stroman. "Im pretty sure they would have let me go. But, yeah, theyre definitely watching pitches so it becomes tough if I would have got up into the ninth and I would have had 120, 130 pitches, its almost like, what do you do? Im pretty sure they would have let me go. I think they have the confidence in me to let me go now." Its a double-edged sword. "I cant say Im glad he gave up a hit," said Gibbons. "That was going through our minds. This keeps going, you know youve got a young kid, youre trying to win a division, you know, do you keep throwing him out there over and over? I dont know if relief is the right word but (giving up a hit) didnt hurt." Stroman, in 10 big league starts, has a 2.21 ERA. In four of his last five starts, each at least 6 2/3 innings, he has held his opponent scoreless while still in the game. He was charged with two earned runs in a loss to the White Sox on June 28. Those two runs crossed when Dustin McGowan, in relief of Stroman who had left with two runners on, allowed a three-run home run to Chicagos Dayan Viciedo. Cheap Hoodies From China Discount NFL Shirts Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Fast Shipping China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys ' ' '