Bouncing back in Game 1 huge for Hawks
Troy Murray, who spent 12 years of his 15-year NHL career with the Blackhawks and now is the team's color analyst on WGN 720-AM, offers his perspective before Game 2 of the Hawks-Flames series.
Q: What did you like about Thursday's game?
Murray: The way this young hockey team responded to win the hockey game. I think they were a little intimidated at the beginning because of the crowd and everything, but I like the way they rebounded. They were down 1-0 and they fought back. They were down 2-1 and they fought back.
Nikolai Khabibulin certainly was a huge positive because for a young team he was the stabilizing force back there. He was phenomenal.
Q: How big was it for the Hawks to get that first win?
Murray: Huge. First and foremost it gives this team an opportunity to breathe a little bit. It doesn't mean the series is over, but after winning the game they'll be able to handle the emotion and the energy of this building a little better at the start of Game 2.
If they had lost that game, there would have been a lot of pressure for them to come out and be real good. You always want to win the first game, but the second game is critical as well.
Q: What was your take on all the hoopla surrounding Martin Havlat's game-winner in overtime?
Murray: The way I saw it (Calgary defenseman) Jordan Leopold pushed Andrew Ladd in there. Calgary drove hard to the net all day and as the game went on, the Blackhawks started doing that, too.
Q: Think Calgary coach Mike Keenan will use Ladd's actions as motivation?
Murray: I think what you do is you say, 'Here's a good example: go to the net, good things happen.' It certainly is a great example of what you need to do in playoff hockey. There's got to be net presence, and the Blackhawks won the game because of it.
Q: What are your keys for tonight's game?
Murray: You want to use the energy of this building to your advantage. They'll be used to what's going to happen at the start of the game.
My second key would be goaltending - whichever goaltender is better in the playoffs is usually on the team that wins.
Third, their puck management has to be better. When I came into the NHL we were always taught to live to fight another day, meaning don't make plays that are going to hurt you. Get the puck in deep, get the puck out. I thought as the game went on they did a better job of that.
• Mike Spellman interviews Troy Murray before each playoff game. Murray is in his sixth season as color analyst for Blackhawks radio broadcasts, working with play-by-play announcer John Wiedeman on WGN 720-AM.