CHICAGO -- As a spectacle, it lived up to all the expectations.
More important, as a meaningful game the Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field wasn't too bad either, which might be the best news of all for a business that really needs more than gimmicks to sell itself to a mainstream audience.
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| Red Wings fans have a little more to celebrate about at a packed Wrigley Field. (US Presswire) |
Under overcast skies and 31-degree temperatures at game time -- optimum conditions really for a New Year's Day in Chicago -- the Winter Classic found a way to shine a spotlight on all the speed, skill and emotion. In other words all the best elements of the sport, and to do so in all of its natural glory. Of course it didn't hurt to have a marquee featuring two Original Six rivals from important markets fighting for a division title.
At least they were until the home-and-home series that began earlier this week. That race may be over now that the reigning Stanley Cup champion Red Wings have made a statement against the upstarts from Chicago beginning with a convincing shutout win at home Tuesday. That game had all the trappings of a playoff battle and set the stage for a rematch that if not quite as physical as its predecessor, didn't lack for any of the requisite emotion and intensity.
"We knew coming into these two games that they were only a few points behind us in the standings and had been playing real well," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "They won nine games in a row so we knew coming into the series that we had to play real well, and I think the team responded well."
Spurred on by a raucous crowd of 40,818 and an electrifying pre-game ceremony, the Blackhawks made the most of the emotion that surrounded them and took the game to Detroit from the outset. Players from both sides insisted later that the ice wasn't a factor. The Blackhawks even took advantage of a chance for a little payback when Detroit's Dan Cleary, who injured Chicago star Patrick Kane with a clean hit Tuesday, was sent flying into the opponents' bench three minutes into the game thanks to a big check from Brent Seabrook.
It provided an early moment of comic relief, but it also turned into a critical play because Detroit was called for too many men while Cleary struggled to wriggle his way out of the Chicago bench. Kris Versteeg scored on the ensuing power play, one of two first-period power-play goals that helped the home team head into intermission with a 3-1 lead.
But it didn't last long thanks to Jiri Hudler, who scored twice for Detroit in the first 13 minutes of the second period, before Pavel Datsyuk gave the visitors the lead for good on what Chicago coach Joel Quenneville termed a "special play."
Datsyuk took a pass on the fly at center ice and split Blackhawks defensemen Barker and Brian Campbell before beating goalie Cristobal Huet with a backhand.
"It's tough for us to talk about how good they are, but Detroit isn't the best team for nothing," Chicago forward Patrick Sharp said. "They don't get rattled when they're down a few goals and they don't lay down. But we are a young team and we're trying to learn how to win those tough games. There are lessons to be learned from that."
The biggest one might be how tough it is to play catch-up against a veteran team that finds another gear in important games has now beaten Chicago in all four meetings this season, while creating an eight-point bulge in the Central Division. Detroit opened a two-goal lead when Brian Rafalski scored on the power play early in the third period and then essentially put things away when Brett Lebda got one 17 seconds later before shutting things down.
Duncan Keith did give the home crowd one more thing to cheer about when he scored with 10 seconds left, but overall, this game simply reinforced the fact that the much-improved Blackhawks still haven't quite reached the status of the league's elite.
"It's a good measuring stick knowing we have to improve as a team," Quenneville said. "We accomplished a lot prior to these last two games, but we should be looking to improve and knowing that's the type of team game we need to play from start to finish. That's the gap we've got to close because they're as good as there is."
