A look back at the heroes for the Hawks in playoffs
CALGARY, Alberta - There were heroes in every corner of the dressing room for the Blackhawks in their Western Conference quarterfinal series win over Calgary.
"That's playoff hockey and what you need to win games, guys stepping up," defenseman Brian Campbell said.
"All year we haven't counted on one group," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Our balance is important to our success and during the series we did go deep into our bench."
Forget the three stars of the series. The Hawks went way beyond that number.
• Nikolai Khabibulin: The Stanley Cup ring on his finger tells you Khabibulin knows what he's doing at playoff time. He was directly responsible for wins in Games 1, 2 and 6.
"I know after the two losses in Calgary he was really mad at himself, and look how he responded in Games 5 and 6," Campbell said.
"He showed why he's our best player," Jonathan Toews said.
• Brent Seabrook: He logged more minutes than anyone on either team in the six games, and was a force physically to go with a goal and 5 assists.
"He's been that kind of a player for us all year, him and Duncan (Keith) playing those key matchup minutes," Quenneville said. "We value his contributions, what he does defensively for us, and anything offensively is a bonus."
• Adam Burish: He backed up his talk with strong penalty killing and physical play. Then he added a key goal in Game 6.
"Adam played great for us, blocking shots, working hard and doing the little things," Campbell said. "Eventually someone like him is going to get rewarded."
Flames winger Rene Bourque was never heard from again in the series after Burish roughed him up at the end of Game 3.
• Kris Versteeg: He lead the team in scoring with 7 points, including 5 assists, and was a key penalty killer.
• Cam Barker: He's getting better and better. Barker had 3 goals and 3 assists in the series and played physical on the back end.
• Jonathan Toews, Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp: They combined for 8 goals and 18 points and were difference makers.
"Their best players were better than our best players," Calgary's Olli Jokinen said.