Second round vs. Chicago: Almost here

Finally, the wait is over. As much as coach Mike Yeo appreciated the time to prepare for the Wild's second-round playoff series against Chicago, he seemed antsy to get going Thursday. The Wild held its last pre-Round 2 practice at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday morning, then flew to Chicago in the afternoon.

Yeo said the Wild would have a team dinner Thursday night, then watch some hockey and relax. Everyone on the active roster remains healthy, and everyone participated fully in practice. Jason Pominville, who sat out Wednesday because of illness, looked up to speed Thursday. Yeo said Pominville was given the day off to ensure he got "all his energy back."

Despite the Wild's 0-6 playoff record at United Center, several players seemed excited to kick off the second round in that raucous arena. The Wild does have a 14-12-2 record there and defeated the Blackhawks 2-1 at United Center on April 7 in the game that clinched its playoff spot.

Charlie Coyle said he gets chills during the ultra-loud national anthem in the building, and he doesn't expect the Wild to be bothered by the rowdy environment.

"It's just how you look at it, really," he said. "You know they're going to be loud. Chicago's a great building to play in with their crowd. They're into it. They love their hockey. So it's going to be fun. We always look forward to playing in their rink.

"As of late, we've been doing pretty good over there. We're not really worried about what happened in the past. It's a new year. We've got a new team here. We've got a different mindset. This group has so much confidence in our team, what we have in here, and what we can accomplish. We have to keep the mindset of going into this building, it's going to be fun. It's going to be a good atmosphere. We've been a good road team as of late. So we want to keep that going."

The Wild worked on several phases of its game in Thursday's practice, which lasted a little more than an hour. That followed a long, detailed practice on Wednesday. Yeo said it had been a productive week, and the long layoff prevented players and coaches from having to scramble to get ready for a new opponent. They could spread out preparations over a few days, so players weren't overwhelmed by a flood of information in a short period of time--and as the week went on, Yeo said, they had the time to focus on their own game.

"I think it's been good for us," he said. "It allows us to get time for preparation, and it allows us to heal a little bit. Last year, we rushed right from Colorado to Chicago to get started. This year, we were able to come home and refresh a little bit, enjoy the first-round win, but really get focused for the second round."

Cooke said he thinks the Wild have a great matchup in the Blackhawks, and he added that the Wild will be looking to control the pace of Game 1 on the road. While his team shouldn't overemphasize Game 1, Cooke said, it shouldn't underemphasize it, either. He stressed that it's important for the Wild to be assertive in the opener.

Mikko Koivu said the Wild has a better understanding of how to advance in the playoffs, now that the team has won a series in each of the past two years. "I think that makes a difference, when you know what it takes," he said. "You're not going to get anything with luck, or if you're hoping you might get away with something; it's not going to happen that way. You need to play really good hockey for a lot of games.

"(Chicago has) been there. They know what it takes. You have to be ready from Game 1 and be ready to do what it takes to even win one hockey game and stick with that. I think we've done a good job with that lately. We spent the last couple months day to day, just getting ready for the next one. That's what it's all about."

Russo was in Chicago for today's Blackhawks practice and reports that winger Kris Versteeg--who wasn't expected to play in Game 1--sat out the practice because of a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.