[thefoss1957]

Scorch, the 'Hawks strength has been their ability to find a way to clamp down, defensively, and counterpunch...in the 2 games that the Preds ran out to leads, the 'Hawks comebacks were triggered by denying offensive chances (limiting SOG to 13 over 2 periods, for instance)...any bobble at their own blueline, and the 'Hawks WILL do the stretch pass, and as good as Dubnyk has been, stopping breakaways isn't a gimme.

The Wild must consistently control tempo, get their defensive rotations, and limit turnovers. Their successes against my guys have come by turning the ice in the neutral zone to molasses, and limiting the 'Hawk transitional speed.

The 'Hawks are an unphysical team, that doesn't take a lot of penalties. The Wild must capitalize on their rare PP chances, and absolutely limit the amount of "bad" penalties (and thanks again for the crosscheck at the bench, James Neal!) that THEY take. The 'Hawk PP has NOT been good, but I remember a mid-season game where Kane skated through and around your PK twice in one possession to set up a GWG.

And nmhen, please recall that a large majority of us 'Hawk fans have not seen, nor have our fathers, a CUB world championship! So sympathy for perpetual failure is understood by some of us, too! Only 5 cups over a 90 year history doesn't exactly erase a Century of fail...