Red Wings shut out Blackhawks in Game 4, take 3-1 series lead
By Michael Caples –
DETROIT – A goal from Jakub Kindl.
A shutout from Jimmy Howard.
An empty-netter from Dan Cleary.
And a whole bunch of penalties from Jonathan Toews.
If you wanted this one summed up quickly, there you go.
The Red Wings only needed one goal on Thursday night, as Jimmy Howard stopped all 28 shots he faced to shut out the Chicago Blackhawks en route to a 2-0 win.
With the victory, the Red Wings take a 3-1 series lead, and a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a win Saturday night in Chicago.
“If you would ask me two months ago, I would be shocked,” coach Mike Babcock said about his team’s chances of upsetting their Original Six rival. “We started playing better and better. Once we got through the Anaheim series, you go in thinking you have an opportunity. Our big thing was to prolong the series, prolong the series and maybe the pressure amps up on them and in the end you get through it. We’re competing at a high, high level. We don’t do things right all the time, that’s for sure, everyone can see that. But I think we’re doing things hard all the time, trying hard. There’s a lot to be said for effort and battling and our penalty kill has been outstanding.”
The No. 7-seeded Red Wings clearly have the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Blackhawks rattled, with no better evidence than the stats accompanying Jonathan Toews’ name on the scoresheet. The Blackhawks’ captain – dubbed “Captain Serious” by the Chicago faithful – took three straight penalties in the second period.
In the midst of the middle infraction, the Red Wings made the Blackhawks’ leader pay.
Off a passing play from Carlo Coliacovo and Johan Franzen, Jakub Kindl had just enough time to the left of the slot to pick his target, and the Red Wings’ defenseman fired a shot off the left post and into the back of the net.
“That was huge for all of us,” Kindl said. “We knew we had to pick it up on our power play. They’ve been playing so good as a team on the PK. That was a huge goal for us.
“This was the biggest game of my life so far and the biggest goal I’ve had.”
From there, the Red Wings continued attacking, but couldn’t find another goal until Dan Cleary buried the puck into an empty net with only 38 seconds remaining in regulation. It didn’t matter, however, because the Red Wings’ penalty-kill units have continued to excel, and they continued to frustrate the Blackhawks.
“You’ll have to ask [Chicago coach Joel Quenneville] that,” coach Mike Babcock said when asked if the Blackhawks’ players were rattled. “I’m not monitoring their players, just our own. We’re doing everything we can to keep our own emotions under control, you’re at home, the crowd’s getting all fired up and you’re starting to get fired up yourself, and next thing you know you’re not in the right spot, so we were too busy worrying about our own focus, rather than worrying about theirs.”
Howard has now allowed only two goals in his last three games, a huge reason why the Red Wings are on the verge of advancing to the conference finals.
“I don’t know if you can ask much more from Howie than what he’s done for us ever since he got here,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “He’s played tremendous and this season alone, last season he was an All-Star, this season he would have been an All-Star, that’s how good he’s been for us. If you’re not appreciating what he’s doing right now, I don’t think if you’re a true fan, to be honest with you. That’s how good he’s been. He’s been the backbone of our team and he will be for many, many years.”
Yet this is still a Chicago Blackhawks team that set a league record for their unbeaten streak to start the season. Game 5 – back in Chicago’s United Center – will be a tall task for the Red Wings.
“The series is not over yet,” Kindl said. “We’re happy with those two games we’ve played here. But they’re a great team and they’re not going to give. It’s going to be tough going back to play in their building.”