Andrew Brunette News

Andrew Brunette watched the Western Conference playoff race unfold and his only thought when the Blackhawks and Wild eventually were locked into a first-round matchup was, "Oh, no, not them." "Them" is the Hawks, and Brunette's reasons for not wanting that particular showdown were multifold.

Chicago players react after Patrick Sharp scored in the the first period as the Minnesota Wild played the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinal of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center in St.

NHL hockey was absent from Minnesota for seven years, and the upstart Wild stumbled through two rough seasons in their debut.