Posted by E.J. Hradek
How do you ruin a Sunday afternoon in Chicago? Invite the Red Wings to town. After the holiday weekend results, it seems the Wings and Penguins are primed for a Cup finals rematch. Here are five things to think about:
1. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville didn't do his young team any favors when he flipped out on referees Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock in the moments before the second period. Coach Q didn't like the refs' decision to tag Hawks defenseman Matt Walker with a roughing minor for his part in a scrum at the end of the first period. While I agree (based on the television replay) it was a bit of a phantom call, Quenneville's rant was way over the top.
I believe a coach sets the tempo for his team. The situation was simple; like it or not, down 2-0, the Hawks needed to focus on killing the penalty and getting themselves back into the game. I imagine it's pretty hard to focus when your coach is out-of-control mad behind the bench. Not surprisingly, the Wings needed just 73 seconds to convert the chance into a 3-0 lead.
As the game evolved, the Hawks followed their coach's lead, melting down with one foolish penalty after another. After the game, Quenneville was still bothered by the Walker penalty, calling it "the worst call in the history of sports." He went on to say the referees "ruined the whole game."
I don't know how that doesn't sound like sour grapes.
I can't imagine his Detroit counterpart, Mike Babcock, was too happy after losing defenseman Niklas Kronwall to a bad call (five-minute interference major, game misconduct) in the first period of Game 3. Babcock, however, didn't lose his composure on the bench and his team rallied to overcome a three-goal deficit before losing in overtime.
Quenneville is a very good coach. He brings more than 100 playoff games of experience to the bench. Still, even in the heat of the moment, he should have known better.
2. Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell suffered through another tough game Sunday. He was on the ice for each of the Wings' first four goals during the 6-1 loss, finishing a minus-3 in 18:09 minutes.
On Detroit's first goal, a short-handed marker by Marian Hossa, Campbell got caught behind the Wings' net. None of Chicago's forwards (Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Martin Havlat) rotated back to cover for Campbell. That opened the door for Hossa and Valtteri Filppula to take off on a two-on-one chance.
On the Wings' second goal, scored by Johan Franzen with just 21 seconds left in the second period, Campbell failed to get good stick position on the shooter and allowed himself to be used as a screen. In his defense, the Hawks could have used a timely stop from goalie Cristobal Huet.
Later, just seconds after Toews had scored a power-play goal to cut the Wings' lead to 3-1, Campbell took an incredibly unnecessary risk in the neutral zone, skating from his position at right defense across to the other side of the ice to try to deliver a hit to Filppula. He barely made contact with the savvy Wings forward, who moved the puck ahead to Hossa. In a flash, the Slovakian sniper charged to the net and beat Huet to restore the three-goal lead. It was the wrong play at the wrong time.
Campbell is a terrific skater, but he's a terrible defender who too often fails to make smart reads. When you're paying someone $7.14 million annually through the 2015-16 season, you'd like to think you're getting a more complete player.
Going forward, Campbell's contract is going to present major salary-cap issues in Chicago. Remember, the Hawks eventually will have to think about long-term deals for their young studs, like Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.
3. The absence of captain/all-world defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom figured to cause a major problem for the Wings. As it turned out, they really didn't seem to miss him.
Babcock leaned heavily on his second defensive pair of Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart. The duo came through with a brilliant effort. They were rock solid throughout the afternoon; Stuart logged a game-high 26:38 minutes, while Kronwall totaled 23:16. Both defensemen finished with a plus-2 rating.
With Lidstrom out, rookie Jonathan Ericsson worked with veteran Brian Rafalski. Ericsson had filled Rafalski's spot alongside Lidstrom when the former Devils defender was sidelined during the Wings' series against the Ducks. Ericsson came up with another mature effort, posting an assist and was a plus-1 in 23:15. It's hard to believe Ericsson was the last pick (291st overall) in the 2002 draft, isn't it?
4. Try as they might, the Hurricanes have been reduced to a light breeze in the conference finals. The Penguins seem to be clicking on all cylinders, but the Canes look every bit a team that's worn out by back-to-back seven-game series.
Carolina's defense, a strong unit in opening-round wins over the Devils and Bruins, has been less than ordinary against Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes don't have any answer for Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Then again, how many teams do? Clearly, the answer doesn't include allowing Crosby a clear path to the net like Joni Pitkanen gave up during the first period of Saturday night's Game 3. On that play, Crosby was uncontested when he tapped Bill Guerin's cross-ice pass into the cage behind goalie Cam Ward.
If the Cardiac Canes can turn this series around, they'll have really earned their nickname.
5. If we get a Wings-Penguins rematch in the Cup finals, we're in for a treat. The Pens are rolling. Crosby and Malkin are better than they were a year ago. And after going through the finals series hype once before, they should be fully focused from the opening faceoff of Game 1.
The Wings, meanwhile, continue to amaze. If you watched them school the Hawks on Sunday afternoon without Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk in Game 4, you were reminded of just how good they are.
The Cup finals playoff schedule could create an advantage in the series. Any prolonged break favors the Wings, who would love to have the extra rest to heal their wounds. I'm sure Lidstrom and Datsyuk wouldn't mind a few days off before the finals showdown.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
