May 7, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker (16) protects the puck from Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27) during the first period in game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Wild face the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals tonight at the United Center starting at (:30 Eastern and 8:30 pm Central time.  For the Wild this is it, win or go home for the summer.  Chicago is back home where they have lost only three times in regulation this season.  The Blackhawks lead this opening round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 3 games to 1 after a 3-0 shutout win Tuesday in St. Paul.  The Wild looked great in their win on Sunday but failed to carry that energy and physical play into game 4 when they tried to skate with the Blackhawks.  Minnesota attempted 68 shots in game 4 with just 25 making it past the ‘Hawks defenders to goal tender Corey Crawford.  Ah, goal tending.  That’s a rather tender subject with the Wild.  Who the starting goalie will be tonight is up in the air according to Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo who said, “We like to keep the other team guessing. We’re not only not going to tell them who our starting goalie is, we’re not going to tell them who our backup goalie is. We’re going to keep them in the dark.”  That’s coach speak for we’re going to start whichever goalie is able to play.  Backstrom is said to be close to returning and he did dress and backup Darcy Kuemper after Josh Harding was injured in the 1st period of game 4.  Harding had started all four playoff games after Backstrom was injured in warm ups for game 1 and played exceptionally well.  Kuemper allowed a soft goal on the first shot he faced Tuesday night, after he entered the game at the start of the 2nd period. He settled down after that and played well. Talk about a tough situation for the rookie goal tender to be thrown into!  Kuemper did say after the game that he knows as a back up his job is to be ready at a moments notice.  Good to say but a lot tougher to do.  Hopefully we’ll see the return of Backstrom tonight.

The Wild however have another issue to address, that being scoring.  In 4 games the Wild have scored a grand total of 6 goals.  Half of that total came in their game 3 victory, leaving a goal a game average over the others.  That won’t get the job done against the Blackhawks folks.  Minnesota has not lacked in scoring chances either, especially on the power play.  In 15 man advantage situations over 4 games the Wild have scored 0, that’s ZERO goals, 0.0% efficiency with the extra skater.  Is they could just score at their season average of 17.9 % that would be 2-3 extra goals.  Last game alone the Blackhawks handed the Wild 6 power play opportunities.  When you hear Coach Yeo talk about missed chances that’s what he’s talking about.  Bottom line Minnesota is going to have to score and defend.  So far in the series the defense has been good.  With the exception of game 2 when Chicago found the back of the net 5 times.  Over the other three games the Blackhawks have averaged 2.33 goals a game.  The Wild are due and this would be a great time to break out of a scoring slump.  Captain Mikko Koivu and linemates Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle need a big game.  Koivu has been held scoreless and pointless thus far with a -8 rating.  Time for the Captain to step up and lead by example.  No Wild player has scored more than a single goal so far and only 5 have multiple points led by Matt Cullen‘s 3 assists.  So far the Cullen, Setoguchi and Zucker line has been the most productive with 2 goals and 4 helpers.  Pierre-Marc Bouchard has a pair of assists and Cal Clutterbuck has a single goal and assist.  That’s the big scorers for Minnesota.  Contrast that with the Blackhawks  Patrick Sharp‘s 4 goals and 1 assist, Patrick Kane‘s 5 helpers, Bryan Bickell‘s 3 goals along with Hossa, Keith and Shaw with 3 points apiece.

Minnesota needs to go back to what worked in game 3.  Hit them, dump the puck in, hit them on the forecheck and get a shot on Crawford.  An aggressive forecheck with an equally aggressive snarling attitude is what the Wild need to bring to the rink tomorrow.  Knock the ‘Hawks on their butt and take the game.  This is not the time for fancy plays, dangling in and out of defenders and picking a corner.  This is the time to get mean, crash the net and score ugly, greasy goals.  Take Chicago out of their comfort zone, shut their fans up and TAKE THE WIN.  Nothing more than a complete team effort will do.  Lose this one and we’ve got all summer to hear about what might have been, what could have been and what should have been.  The Wild have been here before. As an organization the Wild are 7-3 all time in elimination games.  This is time to dig up the spirit and intensity of ’03.  The Avalanche were supposed to win, the Canucks were supposed to win, however a TEAM of Wild players TOOK THE WINS.  They might not have gone all the way, but they went a heck of a lot farther than anyone, except that team, thought they could.  Tonight will end with the Minnesota Wild leaving the United Center with a snarl or a whimper.  The difference is up to them. The Wild have BEATEN the Blackhawks in the regular season, they have BEATEN the Blackhawks in this playoff series.  The Wild players know they can beat them, they have the talent, the offense, the defense, the goal tending, and the coaching.  It’s time to look around the locker room and know that you, with your team mates can get the job done.  If each piece does his part tonight there will be two charter planes headed back to St. Paul for game six.

Check back throughout the day here on GonePuckWid.com for any updates as we head toward game time. You can also keep updated on Twitter, follow us at @DrainScott or @FSGonePuckWild and on Facebook at Gone Puck Wild.  Puck drop is slated for 8:30 pm (CST) Minnesota time.  Once again it’s a later start so NBC Sports Network can carry the Penguins/Islanders matchup.  Where available the game will be televised on Fox Sports North (FSN) and nationally on NBC SN.  After the action I’ll be back with a full recap, reaction and, analysis.  Until then this is Scott Drain shouting, “LET’S GO WILD!!”

May 5, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding (37) makes a save against Chicago Blackhawks during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight we find out if the Minnesota Wild are for real after their overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks.  Game four in their Stanley Cup Quarterfinal Series is tonight at the Xcel Energy Center with puck drop slated for 8:30 pm.  The late start is to accommodate the scheduling on NBC Sports Network which is broadcasting the Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders game starting at 6 pm (CST).  This is the game we find out if the Wild can sustain the tough in your face, out hit, out shoot your opponent style of hockey we saw Sunday.  The series sits at 2-1 in favor of  the Blackhawks and this pivotal game could well be the back breaker for the Wild or turn the series into a best of three affair.

Jason Zucker‘s overtime game winner and Josh Harding‘s spectacular play in net were two of the biggest stories of game 3.  If anyone had told me before game one that Josh Harding would be in net for the first three games, after almost no action since early February, I would have predicted a Chicago Sweep.  Harding has been masterful in goal, surrendering 8 goals in the first three games (The 5th goal in game 2 was an empty netter).  In games 1 and 3 he allowed just 2 goals each night against a powerful Blackhawks lineup.  Harding became the starting goalie when Niklas Backstrom sustained an injury during the pregame warm ups prior to game 1.  As of practice today, which was an optional skate, Backstrom was not on the ice and remains listed as day to day.  Given that and the great play by Harding I doubt we’ll see anyone other than Josh in net tonight. Just a few more reasons to start Harding are his .923 save %, his 2.41 goals against average, and 111 saves so far in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  There’s not a player in the league who doesn’t express awe and amazement at what the Wild goalie has gone through in the past 9 months and his high level of play in the playoffs. Thers is one distinction I’d like to point out here that some hocey fans and those in the media have missed.  Josh Harding is a NHL goal tender who happens to have MS.  He is NOT an MS sufferer who plays hockey in the NHL.

Defensively Minnesota will look pretty much the same as game 3.  You’d have to be insane to change up the top pair of Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin. incidentally the PHWA (Professional Hockey Writers Assn.) apparently doesn’t look any further than the first three columns of stats when voting on Calder Trophy Finalist Candidates.  Jonas Brodin was NOT named a finalist for the Calder Trophy recognizing the rookie of the year.  Talk about getting screwed, with that type of voting Suter will probably not be named a finalist for the Norris Trophy either.  Those two will however be suiting up on Tuesday against Chicago.  The next pair of Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scndella will most likely be unchanged heading into tonight’s action.  For the 5th and 6th defensemen Head Coach Mike Yeo has a few guys to choose from, Tom Gilbert, Justin Falk, Brett Clark, Nate Prosser, Clayton Stoner and rookie Matt Dumba.  Dumba was recalled from Houston after the Aeros were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs by the Grand Rapids Griffins over the weekend.  My best guess it that Gilbert gets the start along with Falk or Clark.  The Wild defense has been playing hard nosed playoff hockey, finishing checks and sacrificing the body to block shots.  One thing the Wild defensemen did in game 3 was to limit the Blackhawks time of possession in the Wild’s zone.  Crisp, efficient passes are helping jumpstart the Wild’s offense while their play in the neutral zone is slowing up Chicago as they try to carry the puck into the offensive zone.  So far in the series the Wild have limited Chicago’s big guns Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane to no goals and Marian Hossa to just 1.  To this juncture Chicago’s top scorers are Frolik, Bickell and Sharp with 2 goals each.  The Wild defense is doing their job, they just need the offense to do theirs.

The offensive lines for the Wild should look pretty much the same as game three with the exception of the 4th line.  One other thing that could change things up would be the return of Jason Pominville.  At this point that seems rather unlikely.  He did skate in practice Monday but still seems to be a ways off from returning to the lineup.  The longer this series goes the better the chance he will return to action.  The top line of Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle will be unchanged as will the line of Matt Cullen, Jason Zucker, and Devin Setoguchi.  The third line will remain Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.  Bouchard had one of his best games of the season Sunday scoring a goal and adding an assist on 4 four shots in 15:11 of ice time.  The fourth line is where we may see some changes tonight.  Jake Dowell and Carson McMillan have also been called up from Houston. With Zenon Konopka‘s broken foot and Mike Rupp‘s knee issue one of them could see time on the fourth line with Torrey Mitchell and ball of energy Stephane Veilleux who made his season debut with the team Sunday.  One thing the Wild will need to continue to do is hit the Blackhawks every chance they get.  Sunday they outhit them 34 to 13 and by the end of the game they had the ‘Hawks looking over their shoulders and making bad passes anticipating contact.  The Wild also need to continue to shoot, shoot, shoot the puck.  They out shot Chicago 37 to 27 for the game and had a 29-17 edge after two periods.  The Blackhawks will once again have Corey Crawford in goal as the injured (lower b0dy) Ray Emery is still not ready for game action.  The book on Crawford for the Wild seems to be shoot high, as that is where all three goals were scored on Sunday.  Peppering Crawford with rubber seems to be a good idea as the Wild have been out shooting opponents as of late.  Coach Yeo’s plan for Tuesday night seems to be outshoot, outhit, out skate the Blackhawks.  Not a bad plan as it seems to have worked well in game 3. So far through three games the Wild have 6 players with a goal and Matt Cullen leading in points with 3.

Tonight promises to be an exciting affair.  They Wild will need to control and channel that emotion and avoid taking bad penalties while forcing Chicago to spend some time in the penalty box.  Special teams are going to be extremely important with goals being tough to come by this evening.  The squad that spends the most time on the power play will most likely take the victory.  Minnesota has an excellent penalty kill but I just don;t want to see it in action too many times.  Remember this is a late starting game with puck drop scheduled for a few minutes after 8:30 Minnesota time (CST). Tickets are an expensive proposition on the secondary market but you can watch the game on Fox Sports North where available and on NBC Sports Network everywhere else.  GonePuckWild.com will keep you informed as to any changes as game time approaches.  Your Minnesota Wild Game Day Correspondent, that’s me, will be back after the game with a recap and analysis. Until then this is Scott Drain and the whole State Of Hockey Chanting, “LET’S GO WILD!!!”