Emotion in UC energized Hawks early
Troy Murray answers questions as the Hawks prepare to take on the Wild in Game 2 of their second-round series.
Q: Everybody before this series with the Wild was talking about how patient the Hawks needed to be, but they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in just over 15 minutes. How surprised were you by that?
A: I think that one thing the Blackhawks wanted to do much better in this series was get off to good starts. They came out, played well and got some really good individual efforts right off the bat. Brandon Saad going down (against Ryan Suter) and getting that opportunity. They used the emotion in the United Center to their advantage for the first time and that's important.
Q: Brandon Saad kind of flies under the radar on this team, but tell the readers what impresses you the most about his game.
A: They call him the man-child, but he's still real young (22). He plays much older and he looks much older when he plays the game. That's kind of hard to describe.
He's just a strong, powerful type of player. He's got some great ability and he can complement players throughout the roster. He's one of those players who's not super fancy. But with the strength and the power that he has, he has that ability to go by people when it looks almost effortless the way that he skates, but it's so strong, so powerful.
Q: Niklas Hjalmarsson hasn't been happy with the Hawks' defense lately. What do they need to do better to stop so many short-range opportunities?
A: If you look at the goals that Minnesota scored, the Blackhawks had possession of the puck on those plays and had opportunities to execute at a higher level and put themselves out of trouble. You knew that Minnesota was going to come with a strong push and have their defensemen jump down. They were able to keep plays alive, and when you keep those plays alive in your own end of the ice, you tend to get scrambly and you start chasing the puck around rather than having the structure.
Hjalmarsson's one of these guys where if he's scoring goals, that's great but he takes the defensive side of the Blackhawks' performance to heart because he's a big part of that. He's very passionate in what happens in his own end of the ice. … That second period was not up to the level that you have to play at. Give full credit to the Minnesota Wild because they came on strong and showed everybody what they can do in a hurry. But (the Hawks) have to be better and more consistent in their end of the ice for a full 60 minutes if not more.
• Murray is in his 15th year as a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team and his eighth as the color analyst for the team's radio broadcasts. The Selke Award winner was a five-time 20-goal scorer who played 15 years in the NHL. Follow him on Twitter@muzz19.