The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks have exchanged 4-1 victories in the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal matchup. Now the series shifts to Detroit, where the Red Wings will host the NHL's top regular season team in their own building at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. The game can be live streamed for free here; Red Wings fans can listen to the game on 97.1 FM The Ticket, while Blackhawks fans can listen in on WGN 720.
During the regular season it mattered very little to the Blackhawks where they played. They compiled an 18-3-3 record at home and an 18-4-2 record on the road. In the postseason, however, they Blackhawks have found the back of the net 17 times as opposed to just five on the road.
Luckily for Chicago, the Red Wings have been the polar opposite, scoring 16 goals away from Joe Louis Arena as opposed to seven at home. The game plan all year for Detroit has not been about prolific scoring though; Detroit has relied on the goaltending of Jimmy Howard in this lockout-shortened season, as evidenced by the Red Wings top five finish this year in goals against.
Howard will need to keep it up if he is to hold off the NHL's second best scoring team during the regular season. To do that, he'll need to continue turning back Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Despite tying for the team lead in goals during the regular season, Kane and Toews have combined for one goal this postseason.
Kane has managed to contribute in other ways while Toews has been mired in a generally unproductive malaise, registering just three points in the entire 2013 playoffs.
Detroit is hoping to continue frustrating Chicago's stars, while their young core feeds off the energy from the home fans. "It's the most fun I've had coaching in a couple years, by far, just because we have a real enthusiastic group," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "At the start of the year, we weren't a good team. We all understood that, but we buckled down and we got better. It's been fun for us. If you would have asked me before the playoffs, I would've told you the same thing. Then suddenly you have a little success in the playoffs -- and it's more fun."
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