Murray: Depth will be key to Game 2
Q. You said the other day that the secondary scorers would be the key to the series. For the Blackhawks in Game 1 that was the case. Do you expect that to continue?
A. I think so. If you look at both teams, they’ve relied on great depth to come through at important times of the season.
The Blackhawks, they wouldn’t have had the streak they had at the beginning of the season or the record they had in the regular season, and they wouldn’t be where they are right now if they didn’t have that real good depth and secondary scoring.
Whether it shows up as big as it did in Game 1, it’s certainly going to be a factor in this series.
Q. If Nathan Horton is out for Game 2 or beyond, how does that affect Boston?
A. A good sign for the Bruins was that he was out there at practice Friday, but if he’s not able to play in the game, it obviously depletes their roster. Somebody’s going to have to come in and fill some big minutes.
Injuries are a huge part of what happens in the playoffs. One key injury at the wrong time can make the difference between moving on in a series or not sometimes
It would be a big loss, but an organization like Boston — just like Chicago — has great depth, a lot of guys they can count on.
Q. The Hawks came out hitting in Game 1. If they try to keep up with Boston in terms of physicality, is that playing into the Bruins’ game plan?
A. I don’t think so. What you saw there was a lot of emotion and a lot of energy. The Blackhawks came out with a purpose to their game. They finished checks, they got the United Center crowd into the game.
I thought it was very effective. But you see it all the time; it’s very difficult to keep that level of energy and physicality up throughout an entire game.
There are ebbs and flows with that, but I don’t think the Blackhawks did anything out of the ordinary other than play a physical game in a Stanley Cup series to show that they were willing to do what it takes.
It was a great hockey game.
You expect a great response from Boston in Game 2, but I expect the Blackhawks to come out and play the same way they did in Game 1. It’s just the way it is at this point of the season when two really good teams go at it.
ŸTroy Murray is in his 13th year as a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team and his eighth year as the color analyst for the team’s radio broadcasts. The Selke Award winner was a five-time 20-goal scorer and a veteran of 15 years in the NHL, playing in 915 career games.