CHICAGO -- Bryan Bickell had an open look on a break in the third period, and shot the puck off the crossbar. He then tried the other side of the ice, and that worked out quite well for him and the Chicago Blackhawks. Bickell had a goal and two assists, and the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Brandon Saad scored his first two goals of the post-season, and Chicago earned its sixth consecutive win despite stretches of lacklustre play in the second and third periods. Corey Crawford made 18 saves in another solid performance. "There were bits of that third where it wasnt looking good, but we just stuck with it," Bickell said. "Leave it to our D and Crawford to keep the puck out of the net. We need to be smarter defensively in positioning, but we stuck with it and got over the hump." Cody McCormick scored his second career playoff goal, but Minnesota missed another chance to steal home-ice advantage from the defending Stanley Cup champions. "We werent that far off," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Even though, again, I know we can play better. We werent that far off. That game was hanging for us." The series opener was tied at 2 in the third period before Patrick Kane scored two of Chicagos final three goals in a 5-2 victory on Friday night. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Minnesota. Clayton Stoner and Erik Haula made nice passes to set up McCormicks first playoff goal in three years 2 minutes into the third, trimming Chicagos lead to 2-1. Crawford then batted a potential tying shot from Charlie Coyle over the crossbar. "I almost missed it, where it might have gone in," Crawford said. "Just enough to land on top." The Blackhawks eventually regained their composure and turned up the pressure again. Coming down the right side, Bickell shot the puck off the crossbar on a break with 4:39 to go. Given a second chance, the physical forward delivered. Bickell skated up the left side, got a pass from Marian Hossa and buried his shot into the upper right corner to extend Chicagos lead to 3-1 at 17:15. It was Bickells fifth goal of the playoffs. He also has three assists after he had nine goals and eight assists in last years playoffs. "Its that time of year. I enjoy it," said Bickell, who had just 15 points during a disappointing regular season. "This is a crucial time for this team. We need for me and this team to step up." Saad added an empty-net goal, and the Blackhawks improved to 16-2 in home playoff games over the last two years. They are 5-0 at the United Center in this post-season. "You always want to help produce and make plays and score goals, so that definitely felt good," Saad said. Chicago jumped out to a 2-0 lead for the second straight game. Jonathan Toews scored a rebound goal after goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped Hossa on a breakaway in the first, and Saad sent a shot over Bryzgalovs right shoulder right after a power play expired in the second. Haula had a great scoring opportunity on the right side of the net after Crawford lost track of the puck in the first. But Ben Smith got it back, and Haula put a drive off the side of the net. "Im disappointed that were here down 2-0, frustrated," Wild star Zach Parise said. "But we understand that we didnt play nearly well enough to win. I think thats what were upset about, not so much being down 2-0. Thats not fun, either, but the way we played wasnt good enough, and definitely not good enough to beat the Blackhawks." The Wild failed to convert on their only power play after going 0 for 3 with the man advantage in the opener. They went 0 for 17 on the power play when they were eliminated by the Blackhawks in five games in 2013. NOTES: Bryzgalov made 18 saves. ... Blackhawks F Andrew Shaw was out with a lower-body injury, but is expected to travel with the team to Minnesota. Coach Joel Quenneville said he likely will be able to play in Game 3. ... Blackhawks F Brandon Bollig was a healthy scratch after he played in every previous game this season. F Kris Versteeg was back after he was scratched the previous two games, and F Jeremy Morin made his playoff debut. ... Minnesota F Justin Fontaine had his first action since the Wilds 5-2 victory against Colorado in Game 6 of their first-round series. Stephane Veilleux was among the scratches after he played almost nine minutes in the series opener against Chicago. Charlotte Hornets Pro Shop . LOUIS -- The St. Emeka Okafor Jersey . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. https://www.cheaphornets.com/875l-terry-rozier-jersey-hornets.html . The underachieving franchise finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record this season. "Our soccer team is absolutely in complete disarray," said Leiweke, drawing laughs during an Empire Club luncheon speech about the future of MLSE teams and plans to improve them. Dell Curry Jersey .S. Olympic hockey management team have been making what he called "ghost rosters" since August. Adam Morrison Jersey . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs.IOC President Thomas Bach is visiting Qatar, where he discussed the gulf states preparations for the 2022 World Cup and its treatment of migrant workers. Bach met Tuesday with Qatari sports leaders, including Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad-Al Thani, the emir of Qatar who is an IOC member and head of Qatars national Olympic committee. The International Olympic Committee says in a statement that the men discussed the World Cup, and the emir "outlined a number of measures being taken by the local authorities regarding recent issues relating to the workforce and their conditions." Qatar has come under criticism fromm labour unions and human rights groups for its treatment of migrant labourers involved in World Cup projects.dddddddddddd The IOC says Bach also visited an anti-doping laboratory which is expected to be accredited soon by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The IOC did not say whether Bach and the Qataris discussed another possible Doha bid for the Olympics. Doha, which failed to make the short list of finalists for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, is considered a potential candidate for the 2024 Games. Bach, who travelled to Doha from Kuwait, will wrap up his three-country trip with a visit to Saudi Arabia. ' ' '