Hawks' 3-0 lead in hard-fought series somewhat surprising
Troy Murray discusses the Blackhawks' surprising 3-0 lead in their series with the Minnesota Wild, Corey Crawford's return to net and Patrick Kane's strong showing in the playoffs.
Q: Are you surprised that the Hawks have jumped out to a 3-0 series lead?
A: Yeah, I think there's a surprise element that both sides are looking at. It's been a really hard-fought series. The Blackhawks played well in Game 2 and kind of separated themselves on the scoreboard from Minnesota, but it wasn't an easy game. The first game in a lot of ways could have gone either way - some good and some bad for both teams in dominating parts of the game. And obviously (Tuesday) was a hard-fought game and a lot of frustration I would say on the Minnesota side that they've had some quality looks at Corey Crawford and weren't able to get pucks by him.
The bottom line in the playoffs - and (Nashville coach) Peter Laviolette talked about it - whether you play good or whether you play bad, the series is what it is. And for Minnesota, they understand that they're down by 3. They've been hard-fought games, they've been very competitive, but both teams understand the position that they're in.
You find ways to win - and for the Blackhawks, with the experience that they have - their players so far in the playoffs have made the difference in games where they've had opportunities.
Q: Have you ever seen a goalie go through the ups and downs in the playoffs like Corey Crawford has gone through?
A: That's a good question. Off the top of my head I don't remember a couple extremes like Corey went through. But very impressive (for him to rebound) and shows the mental side of what a goaltender is all about. You have to have a short memory, you get another opportunity next game - you have to be prepared to go in there and be the guy.
And Corey, boy, give him full marks for the way he's responded in this series against Minnesota after some shaky moments in that series against the Nashville Predators.
Q: You nailed it when we talked before the series against Nashville about how Patrick Kane may not miss a step because his injury was to his shoulder and not a knee. But are you a little surprised that he's playing as well as he is?
A: There weren't conditioning issues, so for Patrick it was a mental side of it. And he's as mentally strong as anybody in the game today. As the smallest player growing up, there was always a physicality element that people expected him to absorb. You look at maybe the first game (vs. Nashville), he may have been a tad bit tentative just to make sure everything was going to be OK.
Right now I think he's been as focused as he's ever been in the postseason. Goals in four straight games is not an easy feat in the postseason. It's not a surprise; I just expected that because he is that type of a special player. I think because he missed that amount of time he was more excited and ready for that opportunity to play well once he got back into the lineup.