1. Continue to protect the lines
The two blue lines and center red lines are more than just for calling offsides and icings. They are a great gauge for defensemen when they don’t have the puck. Try not to back off the offensive blue line too quickly and allow easy breakouts for the other team. Force the attackers before they hit the center red line so that they make a bad pass or ice the puck. And finally, make a stand at your own blue line so that you are not giving up the zone and allowing the opposition to set up. The Blackhawks defensemen have done a masterful job in this respect as they have put a lot of pressure on the puck carrier. Numerous times In Game 2 either Duncan Keith, Johnny Oduya, Niklas Hjalmarsson or Brent Seabrook were forcing the issue at these lines and forcing the Wild into turnovers or slowing down their rush attack. Keep being aggressive at these three lines.
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2. Cover your prime real estate
The Blackhawks have done a great job of protecting the front of their own net and also Corey Crawford. The Wild are know as a team that attacks with speed, gets pucks deep, gets them back, and goes to the front of the net with their forwards and defensemen involved. That has not really happened in this series, aside from 10 minutes in the second period of Game 1. Not only have the Hawks been slowing down the Wild as a result of Key 1, they have been very quick to counter, getting back on dump-ins and starting the other way with perfect passes. The fact that the Hawks forwards are coming back hard and very deep in their own end has really helped this process. Minnesota will make a deliberate push to get some of their bigger bodies (Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Charlie Coyle) going hard to the blue paint. Make sure there is a push back.
3. Keep it simple
The Wild are in a pretty precarious position right now. They are charged with the task of having to win four of their next five games against the Hawks in order to advance to the next round. Their best players have not been their best players, and there will be a huge push by their stars to be difference makers. Ryan Suter is a minus-13 in his 13 postseason games against Chicago during the last two-plus years. Koivu, their team captain, is a minus-12 with just two assists during the same time. These guys, among others, will be pressing and the best way to take advantage of that is to play a simple, disciplined game. This is a lot easier to do on the road, and we have seen Chicago play this patient style with great success in the first two games of this series.