Blackhawks need to put Canucks on heels early
Troy Murray, who spent 12 years of a 15-year NHL career with the Blackhawks and now is the team's color analyst on WGN 720-AM, offers his perspective on the Blackhawks-Flames series.
Q: Has the Roberto Luongo mystique been shattered?
Murray: When a goaltender only lets in 5 goals in a whole series (as Luongo did against St. Louis), when you get as many goals as the Blackhawks did in two games, that's a pretty good sign that you have some offensive abilities.
If he played very well in the first two games and shut the Blackhawks out, there would be that seed of doubt. I just think the Blackhawks know that if they play their game they'll get scoring chances.
Q: What does the potential loss of defenseman Sami Salo mean to Vancouver?
Murray: He's a veteran player with a big shot on the power play and very good defensively. He'll be a big loss for them, and it'll put pressure on other players on their team to step up and fill his ice time. Salo's a valuable part of their top-four defense, and any time you lose that you're missing a big piece of the puzzle.
Q: Your thoughts on the play of Patrick Kane (5 goals in 7 games)?
Murray: I think it's been an adjustment for him; he's never played in the playoffs before and with a guy like Patrick, the focus is going to be on him. You have to change your game in small, subtle ways to get away from checks, to make yourself available in other ways because the intensity of the game picks up so much more that you have to be a little quicker in how you react to players and how as an offensive player you get yourself open.
He's made a quick adjustment as a young 20-year-old. He's been very effective offensively, and defensively he doesn't hurt you.
Q: Everyone's talking about the Blackhawks' potent offense, but what about the play of their defense?
Murray: All season long their defense has been very underrated because of the offensive abilities this team has.
First and foremost, Joel Quenneville makes sure they play very well inside their own zone. They're sound, they're smart and a very good first passing team. This is a team that can play good defense as well as good offense.
Q: What do the Blackhawks have to do to win Game 3?
Murray: First of all, in that series against Calgary, the first couple of games I think they were a little intimidated by the atmosphere in Chicago. You saw in Game 5 that they weren't, and they were able to use that energy. That's important that they do that against Vancouver.
If you can put Vancouver on their heels early, and maybe capitalize with a couple of chances ... then you'll be better off. The Blackhawks don't want to battle from behind like they did the first couple of games.
Mike Spellman interviews Troy Murray before each playoff game. Murray is in his sixth season as color analyst for Blackhawks radio broadcasts on WGN 720-AM.