ST. Rod Woodson Steelers Jersey . PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild have turned their home ice into a deafening, discouraging place for opponents to play in the playoffs. For the second straight game, they dominated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Jason Pominville scored in the second period off the back of Chicago goalie Corey Crawfords skate, and the Wild beat the Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday night to even their Western Conference semifinal at two games apiece. "Its been fun to play here. I dont know what it is, but we have to find a way to bring that on the road as well," said Jared Spurgeon, whose third-period goal gave the Wild a cushion for the final stretch while the fans cheered and chanted louder and louder. "They play hard in their building, and theyre good in their building, and they check well so its tough to get momentum in here," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. Matt Cooke returned from his seven-game kneeing suspension to give the Wild a jolt, assisting on Justin Fontaines opening goal, and Nino Niederreiter also scored. "I think I should have fresh legs. I have to go out there and lead the way. Hopefully my energy is contagious," Cooke said. Yes, it was. Cooke had a team-high five hits -- the Blackhawks were only credited with seven -- to help the Wild hold an intensity advantage from start to finish. "He brings a physical presence," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. "You never know what hes going to do, so youve got to be aware of him out there." Crawford made 27 saves, but he gave up four goals for the second straight game. "Weve just got to play the way we can: Move the puck and play with speed and skill, make the right plays at the right time," Crawford said. "Everyones got confidence in everyone else in this room, so weve just got to play together." Patrick Sharp snapped out of his slump with his second post-season goal and Michal Handzus also scored, but the Blackhawks again found themselves unable to establish a consistent attack against the Wilds stifling defence. The teams will return to Chicago for Game 5 on Sunday night and be back in Minnesota for Game 6 on Tuesday night. Quenneville shuffled up the lines, moving Ben Smith to the first group with captain Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell and bringing defenceman Nick Leddy back to the lineup in a search for more speed and flow. The Wild wouldnt let that happen. Leading the NHL in takeaways in the playoffs and allowing an average of fewer than 21 shots on goal per game in the series, the Wild improved to 5-0 at home this post-season with a 16-5 goal differential. The franchise playoff record at Xcel Energy Center was a mere 5-10 prior to this year. Sharp, coming off a 34-goal, 44-assist season, got his first goal of the series. But the Blackhawks managed just 20 shots on Wild goalie Ilya Bryzgalov after stressing the importance of testing him more. Cooke set Fontaine up for a slap shot on a 2-on-1 rush early in the game, and the puck sailed over the glass. Fontaine buried his next chance, a bad-angle attempt from the front edge of the circle that skidded through Michal Rozsivals legs after Cooke swiped the puck from the defenceman. After two full periods of trap-filled, tight-checking play in Game 3, the pace in this one was quick from the start. The fans resumed their sing-song jeering of Crawfords last name from the last game, and the chants grew louder throughout the night. The buzz in the building was killed for a bit when Sharp, whose struggles prompted a move down to a new third line with Handzus and Marian Hossa, caught defenceman Clayton Stoner stuck in the offensive zone on a turnover by Niederreiter and beat Mikko Koivu to slip a wrister between Bryzgalovs pads with 38 seconds left before the break. But the Wild roared right back in the second period with goals by Pominville and Niederreiter to bracket the score by Handzus. Bryzgalov did his part by sticking his pad out to stop Sharps breakaway with a thud. "That was huge for us," left wing Zach Parise said. As was all that noise from the crowd. NOTES: Spurgeons goal was just the fourth in 42 opportunities against the Blackhawks in the playoffs, the best penalty-kill percentage in the league. ... The Bickell-Toews-Smith line totalled just three shots. ... Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, drafted from Louisville the night before, took in his first hockey game. Lynn Swann Youth Jersey . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair. Troy Polamalu Womens Jersey . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Joe-Gilliam-Elite-Jersey/ .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum.The Jets are getting good goaltending, the Red Wings are on the rise since Datsyuk’s return, a star in the making in Nashville, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Jets Goaltenders - Ondrej Pavelec had a 38-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout win over the Rangers Saturday; then Michael Hutchinson delivered a 33-save shutout, in his sixth career NHL game, against Chicago in Sunday’s 1-0 win. Getting quality goaltending is a major step forward for the Jets, considering Pavelec has ranked 24th, with a .907 save percentage (out of 26 qualified with minimum 150 games) over the past four seasons. Additionally notable about Pavelec’s play in this first month of the season is that, compared to last season, he’s facing shots from a closer distance, on average (33.02 feet last season, 30.54 feet this season, according to Sporting Charts), yet is delivering a higher save percentage. PAVELEC SHOT DISTANCE vs. SAVE PERCENTAGE YEAR AVG. SHOT DISTANCE SV% 2009-10 33.7 .906 2010-11 34.3 .914 2011-12 34.1 .906 2012-13 34.2 .905 2013-14 33.0 .901 2014-15 30.5 .921 (data from www.sportingcharts.com and www.somekindofninja.com) Taking small samples of goaltending performance doesn’t tell a whole lot. It’s great that Pavelec has a .921 save percentage this season – it would be a career-best for him – but if given the choice between using four years or one month of data to project future goaltending performance, the odds side with the larger sample of games and if Pavelec is facing closer shots this year than ever before, the odds are further stacked against maintaining this level of play. Red Wings forwards - Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist each had two goals and an assist in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles Friday. Then, in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Buffalo, Datsyuk had a goal and an assist while Datsyuk, Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg held better than 82% possession against the Sabres. Filip Forsberg – Scored two goals, and added an assist, in a 3-1 win at Vancouver Sunday, generating a dozen shot attempts with eight shots on goal. Forsberg has put up a point-per-game through 11 games this season, and has strong possession stats, with the Predators getting 55.7% of the shot attempts when he’s on the ice for 5-on-5 play. ZEROES Anaheims top line - The Ducks’ No.1 line of Patrick Maroon (returning from injury), Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry was pinned into their own zone – all under 20% possession -- Friday night, getting the worst of their most frequent head-to-head matchup against Antoine Roussel, Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt, a Stars trio that generated at least 78% of the shot attempts when they were on the ice. Zac Rinaldo - The Flyers agitator wasn’t on the ice for a shot attempt in Saturday’s loss at Florida, the second straight game in which he’s drawn a blank, compared to 17 shot attempts against during 5-on-5 play. Travis Zajac - New Jerseys top line centre failed to register a shot attempt in 21:46 against Columbus Saturday. SHORT SHIFTS Maple Leafs G James Reimer turned back 45 of 47 shots (including 26 in the third period) in a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks Saturday...Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel and LW Daniel Winnik both had a goal and two assists, while C Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist in Toronto’s 4-1 win at Columbus Friday…Predators RW James Neal scored two goals in Friday’s 4-3 loss at Calgary, then added two assists in Sunda’s 3-1 win at Vancouver…Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall and C Henrik Zetterberg each had two assists against Los Angeles Friday…Flames C Sean Monahan and LW Johnny Gaudreau both had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win over Nashville Friday, then Gaudreau added two assists in Sunday’s 6-2 win against Montreal. Penguins C Sidney Crosby tallied three assists in 15:27 during a 5-0 win over Buffalo Friday…C Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, LW Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist, while RW Patric Hornqvist chipped in a goal and an assist…Kunitz and D Olli Maatta had the Penguins’ best possession stats (both 21 shot attempts for, 6 against, 77.8%)…Bruins LW Matt Fraser scored a pair of goals in a 4-2 win against Ottawa Saturday…C Carl Soderberg assisted on both…Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to Toronto Saturday…Lightning C Tyler Johnson picked up a couple of assists and RW Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Washington. Panthers G Roberto Luongo stopped 36 of 37 Philadelphia shots in a 2-1 win Saturday…Blue Jackets LW Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to New Jersey Saturday…Devils D Marek Zidlicky contributed a goal and an assist, both on the power play, in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Columbus…Hurricanes RW Elias Lindholm scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Arizona Saturday, then added a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 3-2 win against Los Angeles…Hurricanes G Cam Ward recorded a 25-save shutout against Arizona…Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon and RW Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist, while D Erik Johnson had a pair of assists in a 3-2 shootout loss at St. Louis Saturday…MacKinnon also had Colorado’s worst possession stats (4 shot attempts for, 14 against, 22.2%)…Blues RW Vladimir Tarasenko buried a pair of goals in Colorado’s 3-2 shootout win over Colorado...New Jersey’s top three possession players against Columbus Saturday: RW Reid Boucher (78.6%), D Jon Merrill (70.8%) and D Adam Larsson (68.7%). Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin ended his five-game point drought with an assist at Tampa Bay Saturday, registering 10 shot attempts (6 SOG)… Ovechkin put up a goal and three assists, and C Nicklas Backstrom chipped in three assists, in a 6-5 loss to Arizona Sunday. Ovechkin generated 14 shot attempts (7 SOG)…Flyers D Mark Streit had 10 shot attempts (6 SOG) at Florida Saturday. Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson had 10 shot attempts (5 SOG) vs. Carolina Saturday then 13 shot attempts (4 SOG) at Washington Sunday…Jets RW Dustin Byfuglien had 11 shot attempts (5 SOG) in a season-high 23:03 against the Rangers Saturday. Flames D T.J. Brodie had three assists in Calgary’s 6-2 win against Montreal Sunday...D Mark Giordano, and LW Curtis Glencross also had two points in the win…Flames rookie C Josh Jooris scored a pair of goals against Montreal…Sabres G Michal Neuvirth stoppeed 36 of 38 shots in Sunday’s 3-2 win against Detroit…Sabres D Josh Gorges was stuck in his own end (5 shot attempts for, 23 against, 17. Mike Wagner Womens Jersey. .9%) in the win over Detroit…Hurricanes rookie LW Chris Terry contributed a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles Sunday…Coyotes captain Shane Doan had two goals and an assist in a 6-5 win at Washington Sunday. C Antoine Vermette tallied a goal and two assists…Coyotes C Martin Hanzal had a dominant possession game (14 for, 3 against, 82.4%) in the win over Washington…Jets LW T.J. Galiardi was stuck in the defensive zone (1 shot attempt for, 14 against, 6.7%) in just 3:56 of even-strength ice time against Chicago Sunday…Flames D Dennis Wideman had 11 shot attempts (6 SOG) against Montreal Sunday. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Oilers LW Taylor Hall left Saturday’s loss to Vancouver with a knee injury, suffered when Chris Tanev knocked him off balance into the Canucks’ net. Hall will be out 2-4 weeks. That could mean more ice time for David Perron, who has been playing three fewer minutes per game this season. Maple Leafs LW Joffrey Lupul is out three weeks with a broken hand. As a result, Daniel Winnik has moved up to the Leafs’ top line and RW David Clarkson moved up to play with C Tyler Bozak and LW James van Riemsdyk. Red Wings D Kyle Quincey suffered an ankle injury Friday, opening the door for Brian Lashoff to play his first game of the season against Buffalo Sunday. Rangers D Ryan McDonagh left with a dislocated shoulder and Kevin Klein suffered a foot injury Saturday against Winnipeg, leaving Daniel Girardi to play 34:50, the high water mark for an individual player’s ice time this season. Bruins C David Krejci missed Saturday night’s game against Ottawa with a hip injury. Veteran Chris Kelly moved up to play with LW Milan Lucic and RW Seth Griffith. Blackhawks D Trevor van Riemsdyk played a career-high 19:21 at Toronto Saturday, putting up stellar possession stats (23 shot attempts for, 8 against, 74.2%). Lightning RW Ryan Callahan scored a goal Saturday night in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup after missing 11 days with a lower-body injury. LW Alex Killorn, however, left with an upper-body after playing 6:32 against Washington. The Panthers had to dig into the minors to fill out their lineup Saturday night, with Jonathan Huberdeau (illness), Sean Bergenheim (lower body) and Aleksander Barkov (lower body) all unavailable. Wild D Jared Spurgeon is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, suffered against San Jose Thursday night. The Hurricanes, getting LW Nathan Gerbe and RW Patrick Dwyer back into the lineup, made RW Alexander Semin a healthy scratch Saturday and Sunday. Stars RW Ales Hemsky left Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Minnesota with an upper-body injury. Hemsky is off to a miserable start with zero goals and one assist in 11 games this season. Sharks LW Tomas Hertl played on the fourth line Saturday, a season-low 9:30 time on ice, but did score a goal, snapping an eight-game goalless streak. Ducks G John Gibson suffered a lower-body injury Sunday, leaving Jason LaBarbera to start against Colorado. Red Wings LW Johan Franzen returned to the lineup, after more than two weeks out due to lower body issues, playing 16:19 against the Sabres Sunday. Second-year Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen played a career-high 25:30 against Detroit Sunday. Kings C Anze Kopitar returned to the Los Angeles lineup in a 3-2 loss to Carolina Sunday, one week after suffering an upper-body injury and LW Marian Gaborik played his first game since October 12. Canucks D Kevin Bieksa left Sunday’s loss to Nashville with an eye injury, leaving Alex Edler to play 28:09 on the Vancouver blueline. Capitals RW Tom Wilson tallied a goal and an assist, playing a career-high 15:04, against Arizona Sunday. Avalanche RW Daniel Briere has been scratched for each of Colorado’s last two games, and played under 10 minutes in each of the five previous games. FIRSTS Panthers D Aaron Ekblad scored his first NHL goal, and had superb possession numbers (14 for, 3 against, 82.4%) in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Philadelphia. Coyotes rookie LW Tobias Rieder scored a goal in his first NHL game, playing 11:30 at Washington. Rieder had four goals, six points and was plus-2 in nine AHL games before getting promoted. Playing in his first NHL game of the season with Columbus, LW Brian Gibbons notched a pair of assists in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to New Jersey. Flames LW Michael Ferland, who had nine points in nine AHL games, played his first NHL game Friday against Nashville and suffered a concussion. That led to LW Sven Baertschi playing his first NHL game of the season against Montreal Sunday. Baertschi had three points and was minus-8 in 10 AHL games prior to getting called up. Avalanche RW Dennis Everberg scored his first career NHL goal Sunday, his eighth game in a Colorado uniform. Maple Leafs LW Sam Carrick played his first NHL game Satu-12rday vs. Chicago, getting 4:15 of ice time. Panthers RW Rocco Grimaldi played 6:11 in his first NHL game Saturday against Philadelphia. D Colby Robak and C Vincent Trocheck also played their first games of the year for the Panthers. Blue Jackets G Anton Forsberg made his NHL debut at New Jersey Saturday, stopping 26 of 29 shots in a 3-2 loss. Enforcer Tom Sestito played his first game of the season for the Canucks Saturday, chipping in an assist in 6:25 of ice time against Edmonton, then left Sundays game with an injury. FANTASY FOCUS Some players available in more than 50% of TSN leagues: Nikita Kucherov – The Lightning right winger has five goals and nine points in the past six games, yet he’s still available in nearly 55% of leagues. Michael Raffl – In a great spot, playing the wing with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek on Philadelphia’s top line, Raffl has scored four goals and five points in the past five games. Carl Soderberg - The second-year Bruins centre has seven points in the past eight games, and 10 points in 13 games this season to lead Boston’s scoring race, yet he’s available in more than 60% of leagues. Jason Zucker – After producing early in the year on the fourth line, Zucker moved up the Minnesota depth chart and has three goals and five points in the past five games, and played a season-high 18:55 last game. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '