Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 2 Winners and Matchups to Watch
Joel Quenneville vs. Himself
The Wild and Blackhawks are facing off in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, with Chicago winning 8 of the 11 games played. This is Minnesota’s best chance to knock off the Blackhawks though after being the hottest team in hockey after the All-Star Break. Goalie Devan Dubnyk has been a revelation, and a large reason for the Wild’s success.
Joel Quenneville has won two Stanley Cups in Chicago and led the Hawks to the Western Conference Finals two other times since the 2008-09 season. No one can ever question his credentials, but you can certainly question his roster decisions.
Plenty of times, Coach Q has stuck with players that he’s comfortable with more often than what may be best for the team over the past few seasons. Two of those decisions were benching Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette in favor of any combination of Kris Versteeg, Joakim Nordstrom and Andrew Shaw. Nordstrom has since been benched and Shaw is on the wing where he's better suited, and Vermette was inserted back into the lineup halfway through the Hawks-Predators first round series. At this point, it has come down to playing Versteeg or Teravainen.
| GP | Points/60 | Shots/60 | iFenwick/60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kris Versteeg | 61 | 1.9 | 7.9 | 10.39 |
| Teuvo Teravainen | 34 | 1.06 | 9.41 | 11.08 |
Individual Fenwick per 60 minutes (iFenwick/60) was included to indicate their ability to get their shot off while getting it in the vicinity of the net as opposed to having blocked shots added.
Versteeg has had decent numbers in large part because he has been paired with Patrick Kane for the majority of the season. Kane returned from a broken clavicle in time for the playoffs, and has since contributed two goals and seven points in six games. Versteeg has one goal, and has since been demoted.
Teravainen needs to get extended playing time both because he's earned it and because he's a better option. This is the first time in a while that fans are happy with the Hawks' roster construction, but if Quenneville gets fidgety with his players, the Wild can take advantage of that having kept their top nine forwards –- their best forwards -– together over time.
Keep an Eye on: Devan Dubnyk, who recovered nicely after two shaky starts against the Blues in Round 1. The Blackhawks are a different team with different skills and are much more disciplined. Will he continue to recover as well as he has?
numberFire Algorithm Pick: Chicago Blackhawks (54.47%)
