On Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings began their Western Conference semifinal series with their longtime rival and Original Six companion Chicago Blackhawks.
Coming into this series, it was likely improbable that the Red Wings would squeak out the series win against the Hawks. Their play against the Ducks in the previous round was encouraging, but Anaheim's top players have a different skill set compared to Chicago's tenacious tandem.
The Chicago Blackhawks were the best team in the League this year. Chicago started their abbreviated season with a 21-0-3 record, setting a new NHL record. It took the Hawks 25 games to lose their first game of the season, and they actually had a small slump thereafter.
All of the regular-season dominance by the Hawks was irrelevant now. Game 1 took place and started out pretty slow.
Damien Brunner tied the game up at one apiece after Marian Hossa buried his fourth goal of the postseason at 9:03 of the first.
From this point on, the Hawks found their game legs and peppered Jimmy Howard all night long. He made incredible saves all night, but the defense ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Garrett Kolodziej
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