Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Posted: 9:02 p.m.
By Tracey Myers
CSNChicago.com
Dave Bolland received a good-natured ribbing from his teammates after his great Game 4 performance on Tuesday night.
We were joking he was well rested and had lots of legs left, Patrick Sharp said on Wednesday.
Bolland definitely had the legs and the game the Blackhawks needed on Tuesday. With Bryan Bickell and Michael Frolik on Tuesday, the Blackhawks had a line that was sharp offensively and stingy defensively, holding the Sedin twins to one goal and a combined minus-7 rating.
Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo said after Game 4 that one guy wasnt going to change a series. Maybe not, but Bolland altered momentum with his performance, and the depth his return adds can effect the rest of it.
No matter who you're playing against you have so many more (options) as far as putting lines together, said coach Joel Quenneville, who now has Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Bolland as his top three centers. He's a competitive guy and he gives you a different look as a team. He certainly brings more weapons in the lineup and does pretty well against the Sedins.
NHL
Sharp said he really noticed the Bolland lines impact when he watched the game again late Tuesday.
Froley goes back to the wing and he was flying all night, Sharp said. With his speed he created a lot of those goals; it was a very underrated game from Froley. You can see what Bicks is capable of doing when he plays that way. He's big, he can move and he has some great skills. That line was big.
Seabrook and Scott
Brent Seabrook traveled with the Blackhawks when they headed to Vancouver on Wednesday and Quenneville said there is a possibility of him playing in Game 5 on Thursday.
John Scott filled that vacant defenseman spot in Game 4 and could again in Game 5. Scott was never out there to take Seabrooks place and pick up his duties, specificallythat was a concerted effort among all the defensemen. Scott was there to do what he does best: pick up some minutes and be a big body to keep havoc from breaking out.
If Seabrook plays, Quenneville said theyd look at Scott maybe playing at forward.
A lot of people rolled their eyes Tuesday morning when we announced he'd be on the back end, he said. But we played five big games down the stretch with John Scott on the back end. He played meaningful minutes in those games but they were important. He settled things down, played well defensively and he has purpose to his game.
Froliks time
Michael Frolik isnt used to playing past early April. But the Blackhawks forward, who was acquired from the Florida Panthers for Jack Skille in early February, is starting to soak up the postseason vibe.
It's amazing, so different than what it was in Florida, he said. Its my first playoff so I didn't know what to expect. Its a great experience for me.
Tracey Myers is CSNChicago.com's Blackhawks Insider. Follow Tracey on Twitter @TramyersCSN for up-to-the-minute Hawks information.