St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock planted the seed right
after the Blues' dramatic loss in Game 2. When it comes to the
officiating, Hitchcock said, the close calls go in the direction of
the defending Stanley Cup champions.
That was news to Joel Quenneville, who is trying to coach the
Chicago Blackhawks to their second straight title and fourth in
seven seasons.
''Not at all,'' Quenneville said Saturday when asked if he felt the
champs get more breaks from the officials.
Oh yes, the battle is on for every little inch in the tight
first-round playoff series. After St. Louis won the opener 1-0 on
David Backes' overtime goal off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman
Trevor van Riemsdyk, Chicago rebounded with a 3-2 victory on Friday
night that included two crucial coach's challenges that went
against the Blues.
Game 3 is today in Chicago. The Lightning also
look for a 3-0 lead against the Red Wings, the Panthers play the
Islanders in Game 3 of their deadlocked series, and Nashville goes
for two in a row at Anaheim.
''Yesterday was about as dramatic as you could get and we're going
to have to come back on a very short rest here, so this is short
for both teams to be able to handle it and amp it up again for
tomorrow because I don't see either team leaving anywhere right
now,'' Hitchcock said.
It looked as if the Blues had a 2-1 lead in the third period of
Game 2, but Vladimir Tarasenko's tiebreaking goal was waived off
when a challenge by Quenneville led to a lengthy review and an
offside ruling on Jori Lehtera that was as close as they come. Then
Hitchcock's challenge on Andrew Shaw's goal off a scrum in front
was unsuccessful.
It was an uplifting victory for Chicago and a difficult loss for
St. Louis. It remains to be seen if it has any effect on the rest
of the series.
''It's frustrating, yeah, but I think once we woke up this morning,
we already forgot about it and we're focused on tomorrow,'' Blues
center Paul Stastny said.
The Blackhawks play their first home playoff game since they
hoisted the Stanley Cup at the United Center last June. They are
28-6 at home in the postseason over the last three years.
''Coming out of these two games we know we have our hands full,''
Quenneville said. ''It's been an amazing pace, tight as can be,
close as can be, not a lot of room would be expected in that area.
I don't foresee much change.''
