Wild's Keith Ballard On Playoffs, Fishing Opener

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Keith Ballard helped the Minnesota Wild limit the Chicago Blackhawks, which is a big part of the game plan.

"I think with their personal … there's more shots that become dangerous. They don't always have to be odd-man rushes or back-door plays or stuff like that – they've got a lot of skill in their lineup," Ballard said.

And he's impressed Coach Mike Yeo in the process.

"His skating ability, his ability to execute. There's a couple times when he jumped up in the play," Yeo said. "We want that. We, you know, obviously, we have to find ways to create against this team, and getting our defense more involved is one way."

Ballard is finally healthy and he's a veteran, and that matters right now.

"I've been through times where, you know, I've been injured for long stretches of time and come back into the playoffs as, you know, my first game in a couple months," Ballard said. "So having done that before and, you know, had success doing that before I think was a bit encouraging for me."

His family is in the fishing business. As resort owners on Lake of the Woods, the also opener matters.

"There's some spots with ice on it," he said. "It may be cold, but I would think fishing would be real good. [Walleyes] always bite."