via dirtydangle.com

It was the usual suspects that helped propel the ’12-’13 Chicago Blackhawks to a sweep of the ’79-’80 Minnesota North Stars in the 2nd Round. The North Stars made it difficult in Game 1 for the Blackhawks, but did not the rest of the series. Jonathan Toews tallied six goals and three assists for nine points in the four games to lead the Hawks. He was followed closely behind by Brandon Saad who posted eight points, two goals and six assists, and Patrick Kane who posted seven points, two goals and five assists. Toews also led Chicago in plus/minus at +7, along with Saad. Duncan Keith provided the usual offensive with his five assists in the four games. Goaltender Corey Crawford got off to a rough start in Game 1, allowing three goals on just 20 shots, but finished the series strong to post a 1.75 goals against average and a .928 save percentage in the four games.

The North Stars could not carry over the offense that helped them advance the 2nd Round against the Blackhawks. In this four game series against Chicago, they could only muster six total goals, which was the amount of goals they scored in Game 1 of their 1st Round matchup. After tallying 14 points in the 1st Round, Bobby Smith could only muster two in this series. In fact, the North Stars did not have a single player tally more than two points in the four games. Gilles Meloche struggled in net allowing four goals per game with a 895 save percentage, but did put up a 41-save performance in Game 1.

Here are this series’ links:

• Game Boxscores/Results
• Team Stats
• Blackhawks Skater Stats
• North Stars Skater Stats
• Blackhawks Goalie Stats
• North Stars Goalie Stats

Three Stars of the Series:

1. CHI – C – Jonathan Toews – 6 G   3 A   9 P   +7   23 S   7 Star Points
2. CHI – LW – Brandon Saad – 2 G   6 A   8 P   +7   6 S   6 Star Points
3. CHI – RW – Marian Hossa – 3 G   0 A   3 P   +1   18 S   3 Star Points

GAME 1:

GAME SUMMARY: CHI – 4   MNS – 3   (1-0 CHI)

1st Period:

• CHI Goal: P. Kane (1) assisted by B. Saad (1)
• MNS Goal: T. McCarthy (6) assisted by G. Sharpley (5), C. Hartsburg (5)

2nd Period:

• CHI Goal: J. Toews (1) assisted by B. Saad (2), P. Kane (1)
• CHI SH-Goal: B. Saad (1), J. Toews (1)
• MNS Goal: G. Sharpley (2) assisted by T. McCarthy (4), G. Smith (4)

3rd Period:

• CHI Goal: J. Toews (2) assisted by J. Oduya (1), B. Saad (3)
• MNS Goal: B. Smith (4) assisted by A. MacAdam (7), G. Sargent (3)

GAME 2:

GAME SUMMARY: CHI – 5   MNS – 2   (2-0 CHI)

1st Period:

• MNS Goal: G. Sharpley (3) assisted by B. Maxwell (8)
• CHI PP-Goal: P. Kane (2) assisted by J. Oduya (2), B. Bickell (1)

2nd Period:

3rd Period:

• CHI Goal: M. Hossa (1) assisted by D. Keith (1), A. Shaw (1)
• CHI Goal: D. Bolland (1) assisted by D. Keith (2)
• CHI Goal: M. Hossa (2) assisted by M. Rozsival (1)
• MNS Goal: T. Young (5) assisted by P-O. Brasar (2), R. Zanussi(9)
• CHI Goal: J. Toews (3) assisted by D. Keith (3), B. Saad (4)

GAME 3:

GAME SUMMARY: CHI – 3   MNS – 1   (3-0 CHI)

1st Period:

• CHI Goal: J. Toews (4) assisted by P. Kane (2), N. Hjalmarsson (1)
• CHI PP-Goal: B. Bickell (1) assisted by J. Toews (2), J. Oduya (3)

2nd Period:

• MNS Goal: A. MacAdam (6) assisted by B. Smith (12), S. Payne (6)

3rd Period:

• CHI Goal: J. Toews (5) assisted by P. Kane (3), D. Keith (4)

GAME 4:

GAME SUMMARY: CHI – 4   MNS – 1   (4-0 CHI)

1st Period:

• CHI Goal: M. Hossa (3) assisted by B. Bickell (2)

2nd Period:

• CHI Goal: J. Toews (6) assisted by P. Kane (4), B. Saad (5)
• MNS Goal: S. Payne (5) assisted by B. Maxwell (9)

3rd Period:

• CHI SH-Goal: B. Saad (2) assisted by J. Toews (3), D. Keith (5)
• CHI Goal: N. Hjalmarsson (1) assisted by B. Saad (6), P. Kane (5)

The 6th-seeded Blackhawks now advance to the 3rd Round to face the winner of the series between the 11th-seeded ’96-’97 New Jersey Devils and the 22nd-seeded ’10-’11 Vancouver Canucks.

Up next in the 2nd Round is the matchup between the 10th-seeded ’12-’13 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 23rd-seeded ’79-’80 Buffalo Sabres.