Troy Murray: 4 key questions for Game 5
As the Blackhawks prepare for Game 5 of their first-round Western Conference series with the Nashville Predators, we ask Troy Murray to answer four key questions.
Q: What are the emotions after a triple-overtime game like Game 4?
A: (For Nashville), you have to approach the mentality of playoff hockey (like) devastating losses don't matter, how you lose them, how you win them. It's only one game and you move forward.
Obviously you've got a group of guys in the Blackhawks who are extremely happy and excited about the big victory, and a group of guys (Nashville) devastated and disappointed.
Overnight, part of it is tough to swallow, especially when the game ends so late. But I liked (coach) Peter Laviolette's comments that his guys have worked extremely hard and they're not going to go away and they're going to compete. That's kind of the mentality (you have to have)."
Q: Are these guys going to feel it come Thursday or are they in such good shape that it won't matter?
A: When you play that type of a game, it takes a ton out of you. … For a guy like Duncan Keith, he played almost 50 minutes (46:19). That's a ton of ice time, and four guys on Nashville's defense played over 40 minutes. That takes a toll.
They are world-class athletes and if anybody can recover, it's these type of guys. They've prepared themselves to be in the best shape possible for these type of moments.
Q: Ever since he arrived, fans have been waiting for Antoine Vermette to score, which he finally did in Game 4. Did sitting Games 1 and 2 light a fire under the laid-back veteran?
A: I don't think anybody is ever happy about being a healthy scratch. It's just not how athletes are wired. ...
So when you come to a situation and sometimes it doesn't work out quite the way you have it in your mind, being a healthy scratch is very frustrating, but I think there's always a lesson to be learned. You look at a Bryan Bickell when he's a healthy scratch, he even says, "I have to motivate myself to play at a better level, I understand while I'm sitting and I'll come back and have more focus."
For Antoine Vermette, he was excited about the opportunity to get back in the lineup. And you could see when he scored the goal that there was a lot of relief in his face and his body language. Big moment for Antoine Vermette to maybe get that off his back and start playing hockey at a more comfortable level.
Q: What is Nashville's mentality for Game 5?
A: They know whatever they've done to this point they're still behind in the series 3-1 so they need to have more. They need to find ways to win hockey games. I think that mentality just has to be filtered and have that message inside the locker room of, "Hey, whatever has happened up to here doesn't matter. We just got to go win a game and make sure that we bring effort."
They want to be in a position to force a Game 6 at the United Center.
• Murray is in his 15th year as a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team and his eighth as the color analyst for the team's radio broadcasts. The Selke Award winner was a five-time 20-goal scorer who played 15 years in the NHL. Follow him on Twitter@muzz19.