Good late afternoon from Xcel Energy Center.

I trust you've seen the schedule. Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday in Chicago, Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday in St. Paul.

Get your beauty sleep early because they're all going to be late nights.

Any single-game tickets released for home playoff games in Round 2 will be made available through Ticketmaster and the Xcel Energy Center Box Office. The Wild encourages fans to frequently check ticketmaster.com for availability and visit wild.com/ticketexchange to locate legitimate tickets being re-sold.

I will be hosting a live podcast at the Liffey at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, so come on down or listen on souhanunfiltered.com or iHeart Radio or subscribe on iTunes.

This will be another fairly large cut and paste quote blog toward the bottom because this day got away from me and I need to get out of here because I have tickets to a thing tonight and I'm already LATE for dinner.

If you didn't see today's stuff, go to startribune.com/wild for my advance on the series, a Blackhawks notebook led with Bryan Bickell and his Wild killerness, a Chip Scoggins' column on the job Mike Yeo did this season as coach and a look at this year's Blackhawks-Wild series.

In Wednesday's Star Tribune, I wrote a feature on Nino Niederreiter, Patrick Reusse wrote a column and there's a notebook with a lot of the stuff you'll see here.

The gist of today?

The Wild's just happy to take a few days to breathe.

Part of the benefit of finishing a series before seven games is a team can decompress before hitting it hard the next round. Last year, the Wild beat Colorado on April 30 and opened with the Chicago Blackhawks two days later. The Wild got smoked in Game 1, 5-2.

That same two-day scenario would have occurred this year had the Wild won Game 7 against the St. Louis, a game originally scheduled for Wednesday that won't be played because the Wild took care of business Sunday in Game 6.

"It's nice to not have to rush, to get a little extra time," Yeo said before the Wild opens in Chicago on Friday. "It's nice to have an opportunity to collect yourself after. Whenever you go through a hard series like that and come out with the win, there's a lot of emotion involved."

The Wild took Monday off. On Tuesday, it had an off-ice workout and an optional practice in which Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke, Chris Stewart, Kyle Brodziak and Devan Dubnyk didn't skate. A couple of those guys are banged up, so it's good they're getting time to rest.

Wednesday, Yeo will be looking for a "quality" practice from everyone.

"It's an opportunity to rest here," Yeo said. "Part of it is the physical part, but part of it is the mental part as well."

Behind the scenes, the coaches have begun prepping for the Blackhawks, a team the Wild has played the past two postseasons.

"It can be overkill, too, if you bombard your players with too much information," Yeo said. "So we'll present the things we need to present. A lot of it is very familiar with this."

Other highlights of today?

Yeo's admiration for Dubnyk has grown throughout the season, as the coach has seen his goaltender meet challenge after challenge. It reached new heights last week, when Dubnyk absorbed a postseason battering for the first time in his career and came back with two magnificent performances.

Yeo admitted Tuesday that he was not certain how Dubnyk would handle his poor outing in Game 4 against St. Louis, when he was pulled after allowing six goals on 17 shots. Based on what Yeo had seen from him during the regular season, he was hopeful that Dubnyk would move on quickly, but the goalie had never been in such a situation. Dubnyk remained unflappable, stopping 36 of 37 shots—and frustrating the Blues with several highlight-reel saves—in a Game 5 victory that staggered St. Louis. In the Game 6 clincher, he stopped 30 of 31 shots.

"One critical thing for me—and I can say it now—is the way he responded after Game 4,'' Yeo said. "I think that was a real important bounce-back for him.

"He's had to battle through many things. There were reasons why we could believe that he would bounce back from that, but you never fully know until you're faced with that—especially because there are more emotions in the playoffs. You're dealing with a lot more. But the way he got through that was extremely impressive."

For the third year in a row, the Wild will be starting a playoff series in Chicago. It has yet to win a postseason game at United Center, going 0-3 there in a first-round loss in 2013 and 0-3 in a second-round loss last year.

The Wild was outscored 11-4 at United Center in last year's playoffs, with all three games drawing deafening crowds of more than 22,000. In 2013, the Blackhawks rolled up a 12-4 scoring margin.

While the players are well aware of their postseason victory drought at the arena, they have hope that things will be different this time around. The Wild went 24-15-2 on the road during the regular season--including a 12-game win streak that matched the NHL record—and won two of three first-round games at St. Louis.

"It's a tough rink to play in,'' winger Zach Parise said of the Hawks' home. "It's not a secret; we haven't had any success there in the playoffs the last couple of years. It is a hard building.

"But like we've said, the last little while and the last (playoff) round, we've been playing well on the road. That's a good sign for us.''

The Blackhawks were off today, so the below quotes are smatterings from today's availability:

Yeo

How important will discipline be this round like last round? No question that will be a big factor. That was one of the keys to the last series was the discipline, and that comes in a few different forms and it'll be a challenge again this series. First off, power play, you don't want to be putting them on the ice. The discipline to take care of the puck, to play with the puck a certain way, to not feed into their rush game and obviously the discipline to make sure you're moving your feet, keeping your sticks down, those little things.

Seems no animosity and hatred against Chicago as there is against St. Louis and Colorado? Well, probably a different [animosity]. I mean, I don't think, I don't think that we love them (grins). They knocked us out a couple years in a row here. It's a different intensity in the game. There's not the scrums, there's not as much as that stuff going on after the whistles. That's probably a little bit more because the two teams are built differently. But it is a good rivalry. It's been that way. We certainly remember the feelings of getting knocked out twice by these guys.

How important is center play in this series: "It's going to be huge through the middle. We always talk about goaltending, we can talk about defense, and our centermen are going to be key. They're going to be key because you have to be good at both ends of the ice. We're playing against a very well-rounded team, a very good offensive and defensive team, so they're going to challenge you at both ends. It's not like you can go into a shift in the offensive zone and just let your guard down; you've got to be ready to go.

"But again, because of their well-roundedness, because of their depth, this not just about our centermen, this is not just about one position. This is about our team. That's how we were successful last series, that's how we're going to be successful this series."

On the team's defense: "It's team commitment. First off, you have to have capable players -- especially the defensemen. But it's very well-rounded, it's very connected to every part of our game. For us to be effective defensively, there aren't a lot of things that can be missing. We like to say we play as a unit of five on the ice. The better we execute, the better we play with the puck, the easier our defensive game is because we're defending less. But I think it's like everything else: It's an aggressive mindset on how we play the game. We've got some speed, we've got some guys that really compete hard. But as a group, as a unit of five, we like to think we get on teams quickly and pressure them hard, and we like to think we do that with a good structure.

On Chicago: "They have some guys that are going to finish checks, but they have a lot of guys that are far more physical than you realize, and physical in their puck strength and their puck battles and how they're going to get to the hard areas and compete on the boards and to get to the net. They're heavy in that area for sure. They also play with a lot of pace.

"When you have a team that's won a couple Cups, like they have, and they've had to play off success like they have, you have to be able to play different types of games and beat different types of opponents. They've demonstrated that."

ZACH PARISE

On the time off: "It's nice to have that little break. It was a pretty physical series so everyone gets some bumps and bruises. It's nice to have couple days off, mentally, especially, forget about hockey for a day or two and then come back fresh. The break is good."

Help to be so familiar with them: "It helps, you're familiar with them, they haven't changed the way they play, their systems are the same, their players for the most part, it's all the same guys. We know them really well throughout the regular season and the playoffs, we're familiar with them."

How do they compare to St. Louis: "It's a different style. They're a much more puck possession style team. I think St. Louis is more a lot of quick up, dump it in and try and get on the forecheck where Chicago makes more plays off the rush and holds onto the puck a lot more. Their [defensemen] are really mobile."

How far have the Wild come since the first playoff series against Chicago: "A long ways. I think just the development and improvement of all the players. There have been some different personnel changes. But from the guys who are still here who were there for that first year, it's a lot different. We're playing better, we feel like we're playing better and I think we've improved over the last couple of years."

Is this a way for you to gauge how you are as a puck-possession team: "They've been the team to beat, them and LA, in the Western Conference, they've been the teams to beat the last couple of years. When you get a chance, yeah, you see where you're at. If you want to get out of the West, you have to beat them. It seems like they're in the conference finals every year and playing for the Stanley Cup. It'll be a good test."

Is there something they do to slow you down personally: "They've got a good checking line that's tough to play against. They handle the puck really well, their [defensemen] can skate, so they don't give you a lot of room. That's something that we have to look at and be better with the puck and when we get chances. But the last couple games, as a line, we played well against them."

Importance of depth: "Throughout the whole postseason it's going to be important, and these guys, they've got a lot of scoring throughout their lineup and it seems like if one line's not going then the other one is. And if that one isn't, then the other. They've got a lot of good scorers up front, and they get a lot of contributions from their defensemen throughout, so you have to know who you're out against and you have to beat the line that you're playing against. That depth for us has been a big part of our success the last little while and it's going to be from here on out."

CHARLIE COYLE

is there more respect for Chicago than hatred? There's definitely not going to be that stuff after the whistle. I think they're a good team. They play hard, they play smart. I think they've been successful the last couple of years, I think they like to play during the whistle and not after, that's how they've been successful. It's going to be a good series. We're just looking forward to the first one, getting ready, we know it's a good team over there we're going to face.

On the Hawks: "We obviously respect them. We know how good of a team they are. But we're pretty confident in what we've got over here. It's going to be a good battle for us. They've knocked us out the last two years, so we want some sort of payback here. We want to be on the winning end of things this time around. So I think that's what we're looking to do. We've got to focus on that first game, and that's what's nice about this time, is to prepare for that first one. We have plenty of time to do that."

what do they throw at you offensively vs. what you saw from St Louis? I think as far as our game, nothing's changing. There are little things we have to go over. St. Louis, they're not afraid to put it behind you, go get it, bang in there. Chicago, they like controlling the puck. They like making plays. They have enough skill over there, they have skill and speed, kind of similar to us, I think. They've got some guys over there who like to have the puck on their stick and make those pretty plays. It's gonna be a little different, yeah. But for the most part, I think we're just gonna focus on our game.

How important is playoff experience to the young players, and how far do you think you've come since your first experience? It's been huge. We have a lot of young guys in here who already have two years worth. So it's just to gain that experience and carry it with you, to know what to expect. Just the whole atmosphere of the playoffs; the intensity ramps up. So just to know what to expect. I think coming in, everyone felt a little more confident, not worrying about what to expect or what not to expect. Everyone just kind of knew and carried that confidence, and I think that helped us in the first round here to kind of just jump at them right away. I think the last couple years, we've gotten off to slow starts. I don't know if was inexperience or what. It's a new series here, and we've got to keep carrying that confidence and keep it building.

Looking back at the first playoff series vs Chicago two years ago, does it feel worlds different? Yeah, it does. I think we're pretty confident in our group right now. I think in years before, we had a good team. We were just happy to be in the playoffs, to be honest. I think this time around, we know we have a team that can do something special, to make a run. And we have the confidence to go with it, I think, and that's huge. We just have to keep building that. The group we have in here, we like our chances. You just try to enjoy the process. I think that's just what we're trying to do. I don't think we're surprised by the way we beat St. Louis; we were pretty confident. They're obviously a great team and finished the year in a great position, but the second half of the year, we were one of the top teams in the league, if not the best. I think we just kind of carried that with us. You do look around. You just try to enjoy it. We have a great team, and we know that, and we're going against a great team. So it's going to be a good battle; we're just trying to prepare for it."

More on Chicago: We know what to expect from them. We've seen them before. And I think facing them the last two times, I think the team we have right now, we just feel so much more confident with what we have here. We've gotten better, and you can see that by we got knocked out the first round two years ago, we made it to the second round last year. So we've taken steps, but we feel like this group can do a lot more, and I think that just comes with our confidence here. We've got to just put that in our mindset. We're a good team, and like I said, we're going against a great team in Chicago. They're always out there at the end of the year; they never leave early. They're always there, and they definitely have a ton of experience, but we're so happy with what we've got here. We're looking to do more, and we know we have more to give. That's the scary part, too. It's going to be fun. We're ready for it."