Playoff school's out for Blackhawks, summer

If there were a trophy for heart, the Blackhawks would have carried it home with them Wednesday night.

But they can rest assured, as they assuredly rest over these next days and weeks, that they have captured the hearts of Chicago hockey fans.

So, yes, their playoff run - impressive more for their refusal to quit than for their talent or game - came to an unceremonious end at Joe Louis Arena, as the Red Wings conquered the Hawks with a 2-1 OT victory, and took the Western Conference finals in five games.

Detroit goes on to the Stanley Cup Finals, which begin Saturday, and the Hawks go home to a summer of wondering who will be around when they arrive in camp only four months from now.

It will not be easy then to recreate the magic the Hawks discovered these last six weeks, and with it the ability to survive when survival seemed impossible, to extend their season when elimination seemed certain.

Some players who locked arms this time around, who saw it through to the end, will not be here to witness the next beginning.

One who will is goaltender Cristobal Huet, who was surprisingly solid all night, but will be remembered on this night for his miraculous right pad save on Johan Franzen with only ticks on the clock that sent the game to overtime.

The Detroit crowd was on its feet and cheering the game winner when Huet, down, out and flat on his stomach, bent his right leg, kicked his heel, threw a pad in the air, and Franzen hit the goalie instead of the twine.

It's a save that will be replayed for decades, but despite that one moment, and this one good game, the Hawks' goaltenders were badly outplayed by Chris Osgood, a concern coming in that played out the way you figured it would, as did the series in general.

The Hawks were no match for the Wings' skill players, making a game of it only because of their energy, desire, and young legs.

If anything, the Hawks spent a little too much time taking runs and not enough time looking for the puck, and even with Detroit missing several of its best players, the Hawks couldn't compete line for line.

And on the winning goal, it was as though Detroit had the puck on a string, while the Hawks ran around chasing, hopelessly out of position on the game-winner.

The Hawks' defense was also suspect coming into the series and remains so, no evidence stronger than watching Cam Barker and Matt Walker try to move their feet in quicksand while the Red Wings poked in the series-ending goal.

But the biggest difference between the two clubs, and the most impressive thing about the Red Wings - other than their 10 world-class players - is their all-encompassing need to win.

They don't want to win. They need to win, regardless of how many Cups they've already won, how many players are hurt, how good a vacation would feel.

It's something the Hawks can learn from and embrace.

It's easy to play desperate when you are desperate, and the Hawks had that on their side Wednesday, but it's not as easy to play desperate when it must come from within, when the desperation is born of a need to bathe your fingers in rings.

It's another lesson learned by the Hawks in this series, another part of their ongoing education that began with a rough stretch in March, and ended after 9 playoff victories, with their eighth playoff defeat.

At least for this year, the Red Wings made sure that as of Wednesday, class is dismissed.

brozner@dailyherald.com