It's Hawks' quickness vs. Flames' muscle, analysts say

The Calgary Flames might be banged up and struggling, but they still have two things going for them in their first-round playoff series against the Blackhawks that starts Thursday night at the United Center.

"A lot of people are counting Calgary out, but it's hard to do because of (Jarome) Iginla and (Miikka) Kiprusoff," NBC's Pierre Maguire said Monday during a conference call with reporters. "That's going to be a dynamic series. Hockey is back in Chicago, and I can't say enough about what's going on there."

Iginla might be the NHL's best leader at the moment, a game-breaker with plenty of playoff experience.

"I'm sure that Duncan Keith is going to see a lot of Iginla," said Eddie Olczyk, who was also part of Monday's call with network NHL analysts.

Kiprusoff is 23-24 in 50 playoff games with a 2.19 goals-against average.

"I don't know if Kiprusoff is too tired or not," said Don Cherry of Hockey Night in Canada.

Kiprusoff appeared in 76 games this season to lead all goalies.

The Flames are likely to get defensemen Dion Phaneuf and Cory Sarich back for Game 1, but punishing defenseman Robyn Regehr is doubtful with a sprained knee.

"If they don't have Regehr, that will be tough for them," Maguire said.

Former NHL coach Marc Crawford, now a Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster, sees the Hawks' mobile defense as holding a key to the series.

"One of their strengths is they go back for the puck so quickly," Crawford said. "So it is going to be difficult for the Flames, who like to get in on the forecheck, to get in on the forecheck and have a successful forecheck.

"On the other side, physically, that's where the edge goes to the Calgary Flames. The Flames are a much more physical team. They have a much more imposing group, especially with the likes of Regehr, Phaneuf and Sarich back in the lineup."

Crawford sees it as a matchup of the Hawks' quickness against the Flames' muscle.

"The Hawks can come at you with four lines and have developed a nice checking line with (Sammy) Pahlsson and (Andrew) Ladd and (Dustin) Byfuglien," said Crawford. "Any team that's going to be good in the playoffs has to have a good checking line, and I'm sure that line will be matched up against the Iginla group.

"They're a very quick skating club, a team that plays with pace, and a team with an outstanding defense that goes back to the puck. The Flames have to be physical if they want to have success against Chicago."