4 keys to Chicago Blackhawks claiming Game 4 vs. Oilers
Here are four keys to a series-clinching Blackhawks win in Game 4 of their best-of-five series against Edmonton.
1. Rinse, repeat
A strong start is essential because you have to know the desperate, shellshocked Oilers are going to come out flying. If the Hawks can stem the tide and repeat their Game 3 start, it would go a long way in helping them oust Connor McDavid and Co.
“Learn from Game 2,” Brandon Saad said when asked how the Hawks should approach Game 4. “They have that killer instinct when they're down a game, and now they're on the brink of elimination, so that was an important lesson for our team. We have to match that intensity going into tomorrow, knowing their backs are against the wall and we've got to have that same mentality against them.”
2. Shining stars
The Hawks were fortunate to win Game 3. A perfect redirect by Matthew Highmore tied it at 3, and the game-winner came when Connor Murphy's shot took a crazy carom off Darnell Nurse's stick and glanced off Jonathan Toews' body into the net. The Hawks can't rely on these kind of bounces moving forward and need the veterans to step up to put the series away.
“You need your leadership group to help push the message of how we're going to win,” Colliton said. “Our guys have done a really good job, particularly in the second half of the season and as we got into the playoffs here. (They're) holding each other accountable and being an example to the young players to how we need to act if we're going to have a chance to win.”
3. Fire away
Who would have thought that Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek would suddenly turn into Roman Josi and Shea Weber? OK, we won't go that far — and Maatta and Koekkoek have certainly stumbled at times defensively — but their contributions offensively have been downright stunning.
Maatta (5 goals in 125 regular season games the last two years) has scored in back-to-back games, while Koekkoek (7G, 22A in 149 career games) has a goal and an assist. Their willingness to fire pucks through traffic from the blue line is paying huge dividends, and they shouldn't hesitate to keep pulling the trigger.
4. Power up
The Oilers have tried giving this series away by putting the Hawks on the power play 16 times. The Hawks, however, have cashed in on just one of their last 11 chances. Instead of getting cute and looking for the perfect play, it's time to put traffic in front Mikko Koskinen and just keep firing at the net.
“They've scored their (power-play) goals by getting their puck around the net and coming up with rebounds and outnumbering us,” coach Jeremy Colliton said of the Oilers. “That's a pretty good recipe. As far as our approach, we're just gonna keep working to get better and there's no reason to overthink it. We've come through with some goals and we're going to come through with more here.”