Murray: Hawks had the will to win, but it gets tougher on road

Q. That was the compete level you were looking for in Game 2, right? A. Yes, there was a lot of hard work and effort Monday. The Blackhawks' will got stronger as the game went on and I thought that was the difference. It almost got to the point where you thought Roberto Luongo might be unbeatable in that game and Vancouver might steal the game and lead 2-0 in the series. But the Hawks broke their way through it and worked extremely hard to get the results.Q. Vancouver has to be thinking they're in a series now? A. They knew it was going to be a long series. They weren't taking the Blackhawks lightly even after Game 1. They knew that was an off game. Game 2 was basically what you expected: two good teams going at it. The Hawks got some lucky bounces in the beginning - a couple of hit posts by Vancouver could have been the difference in the game.Q. How do the Hawks keep this going in Vancouver? A. They just have to use the emotion and energy they created and understand what it takes to compete at that level. They were extremely good as far as keeping the mental focus. They did what they needed to do to drive hard to the net to create scoring chances. They just have to continue what they did and even pick it up to the next level because it's going to be even harder in Vancouver.Q. What's the deal with home ice not meaning as much in these playoffs? A. I don't know why that is. You certainly want to have home-ice advantage in this series, but it just doesn't seem like it's making a big difference at this point. Good teams are losing at home and there's no rhyme or reason. You have to come prepared to play whether at home or on the road. There are two different scenarios: if the home team does well, they feed off the energy of the building. If the road team does, it sucks the life out of the building. It's a tricky situation. bull; You can hear Troy Murray's analysis on every Blackhawks radio broadcast on WGN AM-720