DETROIT -- Of the few straws there are for the Chicago Blackhawks to grasp heading into a do-or-die Game 5, the best may be the one from the last time they were here.
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| Cam Barker says the Blackhawks 'have to be in better control and play smarter and simpler.' (Getty Images) |
"We've been good all playoffs, and I think we played two pretty good competitive games there to come out with nothing, so we've got to build off that," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "The thing is you have to measure yourself against the best and we certainly feel we can compete with them because [until Game 4], we were right there with them.
"We've had some tough battles before in the Calgary series, the Vancouver series where your emotions get the best of you at times and all of a sudden you might get off track so we just have to reinforce the discipline factor."
Actually they have to find it. The Blackhawks often looked like kids throwing temper tantrums in a playground as they spent more time focusing on trying to beat up the Red Wings instead of just trying to beat them. Chicago took 16 penalties in all, nine for roughing, including several that were called after whistles and ended up being victimized by three Detroit power-play goals as the Red Wings took a 3-1 stranglehold in the series.
• Series: Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 1
"There's no question [Game 4] kind of got away from us because we let our emotions get away from us," Chicago defenseman Cam Barker said. "Obviously you can't be running like that because [Detroit's] power play will hurt you. We have to be in better control and play smarter and simpler. But I think if there's one thing we've learned all season and something we've done well is bounce back and learn from our mistakes so I don't see this as being any different."
Except that Chicago is likely to go into the elimination game without its leading scorer Martin Havlat and its starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, neither of whom skated in the team practice on Tuesday. Havlat, who was the recipient of the Niklas Kronwall bulldozer hit in Game 3 that effectively led to the Blackhawks meltdown, was back in the lineup for Game 4, but left early in the second period after absorbing another hit from Brad Stuart. Khabibulin, meanwhile, was pulled before the third period of Game 3 because of a lower body injury, and his replacement Cristobal Huet, who survived his first appearance in six weeks that night, was rattled early and lit up in Sunday's Game 4.
Any way you look at it, things don't bode well for Chicago heading into a must-win game.
"It's always tough in the playoffs when guys get injured, but there's always stuff happening," Chicago forward Samuel Pahlsson said. "You just have to learn how to handle it the right way and focus your energy on doing the right thing out there." That of course is the strength of the Red Wings, who seem to have the concept of composure in their DNA, although they still have some health issues of their own. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom, a late scratch for Game 4, and centers Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper, who were sidelined earlier in the series, are all considered doubtful for Game 5. But Detroit has so much depth and experience throughout its lineup, it doesn't really make that much of a difference.
"We have some guys who have been around for many, many years and I think that comes into play especially in situations like this," Kronwall said.
Clearly it did in Game 4. Lidstrom's partner Brian Rafalski had his best game of the playoffs, while rookie Jonathan Ericsson handled playing extra minutes on defense smoothly. Even 47-year-old veteran Chris Chelios, the subject of some controversy because of his repeated scratches from the lineup, held his own in his limited playing time. And up front, the Red Wings' regular-season goals leader Marian Hossa broke a six-game scoring slump by connecting twice.
"Yeah, they stepped up huge and played a really big game," Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. "That's the thing. We're finding guys contributing in different games. That's huge for us."
So would wrapping this series up and giving the injured players a little extra time to heal, although that seems to be easier said than done for the Red Wings. Detroit had chances to close out both the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins last spring in Game 5s at home and ended up losing before finishing things up on the road. So the Red Wings aren't taking anything for granted.
"We've been in a situation before because we lost two Game 5s last year, so you set yourself up for anything, understanding all the time that you've done nothing until this point," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "You know, everyone talks about a best-of-7 but it's actually a real race to four. The quicker you get there, the better off you are."
