Havlat's game-tying goal changed everything in series
Troy Murray, who spent 12 years of a 15-year career with the Blackhawks and now is the team's color analyst on WGN 720-AM, offers his perspective on the Blackhawks-Canucks series.
Q!: Was Martin Havlat's game-tying goal a series changer?
Murray: Without a doubt. Without that goal the Blackhawks are in deep, deep trouble. There have been examples of teams coming back from 3-1 deficits, like Washington (against the New York Rangers), but that would be a tough thing to do against a quality team like Vancouver.
Q: How about the play of Havlat's line as a whole on Thursday?
Murray: I thought every line played fairly well for the Blackhawks. It was a hard-fought effort all night just to get through to (Vancouver goalie) Roberto Luongo. I thought on Havlat's goal that was the only open ice in the middle that the Blackhawks had seen in the game.
Q: Nikolai Khabibulin didn't get too much action, but he came up big late, didn't he?
Murray: His save on Alex Burrows in overtime was big. For a while there, it didn't look like his 14 saves were going to be enough, but it turned out they were.
Q: How is the pressure on the Canucks from the Vancouver media and fans different from that on the Hawks?
Murray: They're the major focus. Vancouver doesn't have college or other professional sports teams. They lead off the news reports and sports reports every night. It's more than Chicago, but that's just the media. It's more of what is happening in the locker room that should be important to the Canucks.
Q: Who is one player you might be focused on in tonight's game?
Murray: Maybe the guy I'll focus on is defenseman Kevin Bieksa. He hurt himself on the first shift of overtime Thursday and didn't return to the ice.
If he's out, that's a big loss. He's a major part of that defense, and with Sami Salo hurting as well, that could turn out to be very important for the Canucks ... and the Blackhawks.
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.