Scott Cullen looks at Saturdays playoff action, including tough times for the undisciplined Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Calvert lifting the Blue Jackets to their first playoff win, and Nathan MacKinnon putting on a show as Colorado takes a 2-0 series lead over Minnesota. Willie Mays Jersey . HEAVY HOCKEY The Chicago Blackhawks are within two minutes of having a 2-0 series lead, surrendering tying goals late in the third period (1:45 remaining in Game One, six seconds left in Game Two) of the first two games in St. Louis, leading to 4-3 overtime defeats in both games. Being that close doesnt amount to much now, though, as Chicago is facing a 2-0 series deficit along with the possibility that a top pair defenceman, Brent Seabrook, could be suspended for a crushing hit on Blues C David Backes, whose status has to be questionable in the immediate aftermath. Seabrook had a goal and an assist in Game Two, before taking a major penalty for his hit on Backes wit 4:51 remaining in the third period. If Seabrook is suspended, Sheldon Brookbank could move into the Chicago lineup, but Backes potential absence also causes issues for the Blues. Even though the St. Louis lineup was bolstered by the return of RW T.J. Oshie, their top three healthy centres after Backes in Game Two were Vladimir Sobotka, Maxim Lapierre and Derek Roy. If Backes is out (and Patrik Berglund is already out), then St. Louis may have to shuffle Steve Ott to the middle and add a winger, Dimitrij Jaskin or Brenden Morrow, to the lineup. Leading the way for St. Louis in Game Two was D Kevin Shattenkirk, who had a goal and two assists, and also happened to be break-even in Corsi%, which was rare on a Blues team that was easily handled by Chicago at even strength. The problem for the Blackhawks, however, was an appalling lack of discipline, as Chicago was shorthanded nine times, including 11 minutes of shorthanded time in the final 15 minutes of the game. A positive for the Blackhawks was the performance of RW Marian Hossa, who matched his season high with eight shots on goal in Game Two. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews, who was on the ice for both the tying and game-winning goals against, had a dominant possession game (85% Corsi%), getting the better of a strength-on-strength matchup against the Blues top line of Backes, Alexander Steen and T.J. Oshie. Returning to the lineup for the first time since a late-season concussion, Oshies Corsi% for the game was 13.0%. The results through the first two games could have gone either way, so its not as if Chicago is out of the running as they head home for Game Three. However, their margin for error is gone. They need to get on the board with a win if they are going to make a series out of this. JACKETS EVEN UP Matt Calverts second goal of the game, 1:10 into double overtime, earned the Columbus Blue Jackets the first playoff win in the franchises history. Calvert, who was favourably included in my piece on which fighters can handle more playing time, played a career-high 22:26 in the double-overtime affair, having possession success with linemates Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky. Blue Jackets D Jack Johnson led all skaters with 38:21 of ice time and scored the game-tying goal with 6:01 remaining in the third period. Johnson now has 15 points in 14 career playoff games. Among defencemen with at least a dozen career playoff games, Johnsons 1.07 points per game in the postseason ranks second, behind only Bobby Orr. Blue Jackets C Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist, while D David Savard contributed two assists to the winning effort. On the Penguins side, RW Brian Gibbons scored a pair of goals, and Sidney Crosby had a couple of assists, but no other Penguins forwards got on the scoresheet. D Paul Martin had two assists while Matt Niskanen added a goal and an assist. Perhaps the most troubling issue for Pittsburgh in Game Two was the play of D Kris Letang, who was stomped (32.5% Corsi%) in possession terms. His minus-14 Corsi was his lowest of the season. Even so, his 27:40 of ice time was behind only Paul Martin (34:07) and Brooks Orpik (28:02) on the Penguins blueline. Columbus D Fedor Tyutin left the game with a presumed upper-body injury after taking a couple of hard hits and playing just 6:55. If Tyutin is out, Dalton Prout or Nick Schultz are available to join the Columbus lineup, but Savard is the one who moves up the depth chart. He played 33:46 in Game Two. Earning the Game Two win ought to give the Blue Jackets some feeling of belonging in the postseason. They can compete with the Penguins, play them close enough that G Sergei Bobrovsky (who stopped 39 of 42 shots in Game Two) has a chance to make a difference. MACKINNONS COMING OUT PARTY 18-year-old Avalanche rookie RW Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists in Colorados 4-2 Game Two win over the Minnesota Wild, giving the Avs a 2-0 lead in the series, and MacKinnon seven points through two games. There is a good chance that MacKinnon is on his way to the best playoff scoring for an 18-year-old in league history, as Jaromir Jagr holds the current mark with 13 playoff points in 1991. The line of MacKinnon, LW Gabriel Landeskog (two goals) and C Paul Stastny (one goal, three assists) carried the day for the Avalanche, with MacKinnons speed and playmaking ability creating huge difficulty for the Wild, even though Minnesota frequently had their top defence pairing of Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin matched up against them. Though he wasnt particularly to blame for Colorados first three goals, Wild G Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled with 8:01 remaining in the second period, replaced by Darcy Kuemper, the rookie who last played March 27. Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced. That Colorado has high-end skill up front comes as no surprise, nor is it shocking that G Semyon Varlamov has been the better of the goaltenders in the series but, coming home for Game Three, the Wild need their own top forwards to answer the bell and hope that whomever they go with in net, Kuemper or Bryzgalov, will give them a chance to get back in the series. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Johnny Cueto Jersey . Balotelli was out at dinner with his brother Enoch and came home to discover he had been burgled. The car was later found abandoned. Balotelli wrote Saturday on Twitter: "I feel empty! No emotions . Mark Melancon Jersey . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. http://www.sfgiantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Matt-Williams-Kids-Jersey/ .Balotelli uploaded on Instagram a picture of the video-game character Super Mario, with whom the Italy international shares a nickname, with text around the image including jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew. NEW YORK -- After more than two weeks of mostly misery, the Texas Rangers werent about to start patting themselves on the back for winning one game. Robinson Chirinos hit an early three-run homer, Adrian Beltre connected again and Texas ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night. "I know we finally won a ballgame, but weve got to win more than just today," manager Ron Washington said. Alex Rios had three hits, including an RBI double off longtime Texas nemesis Bartolo Colon in a four-run first, and Colby Lewis (6-5) pitched six steady innings to help the banged-up Rangers win for only the third time in 17 games. They snapped a 10-game skid on the road, their longest since a club-record slide of 12 games in 2003, with their first win away from home since June 16 in Oakland. "Its been a rough season and weve talked plenty about this, and its a shame that it happened to us with as good of a team that we were going to have," Rios said. "But we just have to go out and play like we did tonight, have fun and enjoy what we do." Travis dArnaud homered for the Mets, who have dropped five of six and eight of 10. David Wright had a double in four at-bats as he returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a bruised left rotator cuff. Colon (8-7) went seven innings but lost his second consecutive outing after going 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his previous seven starts. The 41-year-old right-hander fell to 20-9 in 34 starts against the Rangers, his most wins against any team and the most by any pitcher vs. Texas. The first inning has been a bugaboo for Colon all season. "I have no idea why," he said through a translator. "I was just having trouble getting my pitches where I wanted them that first inning." Lewis allowed three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits. He struck out seven, walked none and pitched around Wrights leadoff double in the fifth, retiring his final six batters to protect a two-run lead. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in three straight starts, compiling 21 strikeouts and no walks during that stretch. Shawn Tolleson escaped an eighth-inning jam after Texas turned Juan Lagares hard grounder into a double play. Joakim Soria, pitching for the first time in six days, worked a one-hit ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances. "Were supposed to be winning more ballgames right now," Beltre said. "All the injurries and stuff -- we still have a pretty good team, and we shouldnt be losing as much as weve been. San Francisco Giants Jerseys. No excuse. We should be playing better, and thats what we expect." Elvis Andrus and Rios hit consecutive doubles in the first to put Texas ahead. Colon had a chance to get out of the inning down by only one, but Chirinos drove a 1-2 pitch the other way to right-centre for his eighth home run. He has six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 20 games. Beltre, who also homered Friday in the Rangers first visit to Citi Field, made it 5-0 in the third with his sixth career home run off Colon. Curtis Granderson hit an RBI double, and Bobby Abreu had a run-scoring single in the bottom half, but Lewis limited the damage. With the bases loaded, Wright flied out to shallow centre, Lucas Duda struck out, and Lagares grounded out. "Just fell short tonight," said dArnaud, who hit a leadoff homer in the fourth. Chirinos was a bit shaken up in the fifth when a foul ball hit him in the mask. After a trainer and Washington came out for a look, Chirinos and his manager playfully shoved each other before the catcher returned to his spot behind the plate. "Were not out of this thing," Lewis said. "Its only the All-Star break, so you never know what can kind of happen." NOTES: The Mets said right-handed reliever Buddy Carlyle was on his way from Triple-A Las Vegas to New York, and manager Terry Collins confirmed "there is a possibility" left-hander Jonathon Niese will be placed on the disabled list with shoulder trouble. "We will make the announcement (Sunday)," Collins said. "We are going to wait to see when he gets in here, how he is doing." ... The Rangers fielded a different lineup for the 20th straight game. Theyve used 45 players this season, most in the majors and one shy of their total from last year. ... Washington said he would encourage Yu Darvish to participate in the All-Star game if the Japanese right-hander is chosen for the AL roster on Sunday -- but he doesnt want his ace throwing more than 20 pitches. Darvishs next scheduled start is Wednesday against Houston. ... Texas 1B Carlos Pena snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an eighth-inning double. He is 4 for 36 (.111) since getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 24. ... Wright extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch (3-3) starts the series finale Sunday against Mets RHP Zack Wheeler (3-8). 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