Sharp expects series will get a bit more ornery

By Blackhawks standards, Game 1 was a surprisingly physical affair. By Stanley Cup playoff standards, though, it was downright cordial.

As the playoffs move along, though, that likely will change.

“Yeah, sooner or later,” Patrick Sharp said. “Every playoff series I’ve been in, there’s been some kind of bad blood that usually comes out later in the series. You didn’t see too much of it in Game 1. But there were some checks finished and words being said. I think that boils over as we go along.”

Much of the talk before Game 2 Friday was about Thursday night’s game between Ottawa and Montreal in which Ottawa’s Eric Gryba sent Montreal’s Lars Eller off on a stretcher with a high open-ice hit. Gryba was suspended two games on Friday. Jonathan Toews and Sharp thought it was a clean hit, but it was a reminder of Raffi Torres’ concussive hit on Marian Hossa last spring.

“We saw it last year in our games firsthand,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s all part of hockey. The speed, the size and split-second decisions or timing — those are the things that can happen.”

No net change

Niklas Backstrom flew commercial to Chicago on Thursday night, rather than on the team charter, but it was Josh Harding in net again for the Wild, with Darcy Kuemper backing him up. Wild coach Mike Yeo hoped that Harding would be able to carry the momentum from his strong Game 1 performance into Game 2, especially now that he knew in advance he’d be the starter.

“He looks poised and focused and confident,” Yeo said. “Cer- tainly there’s butterflies, I’m sure, and I’m sure their goalie’s feeling the same thing.”

Sharp, for one, said it didn’t much matter who was between the pipes.

“As a player, as a shooter, I don’t care who’s in net,” he said. “Both those guys are quality goalies who are going to make saves if they see the puck. The game plan for guys like us is always the same — get to the net and try to bang one home.”

Injury update

The Wild also was without defenseman Clayton Stoner, injured by an Andrew Shaw hit in the first period of Game 1, and forward Jason Pominville, still out with a concussion.

Ray Emery and Dave Bolland didn’t dress for the Hawks, as expected. They’ll both likely travel to Minnesota on Saturday.