Lightning Shut Out Blackhawks 2-0 In Chicago

Added on Apr 04, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

Even though the shots on goal at the end of 60 minutes were 31-15, it only took one to give the Tampa Bay Lightning the win over the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0. The star of the game was Lightning goalie Mike Smith who stopped all 31 shots. Smith said he had to stop thinking, and just focus on the action, he said “I stopped thinking about how to play and just played. Things happen fast out there and you can’t always be in the right position at the right time. It’s about making saves. Lately I’ve just focused on making saves and being in good position. And when you’re not, just try to make big saves.”

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher was elated with the performance from Smith, and couldn’t say enough about him. He said “You can’t ask for better. You’ve got a backup that goes in and gives you a chance to win in a back-to-back. That’s two back-to-backs now that he goes in and does a great job.”

Tampa Bay forward Martin St. Louis said they were aware they were already in the playoffs, but they weren’t going to just roll over. He said “We still have something to play for, but we have our playoff spot locked in and they don’t. We knew they needed these points more than we did, but it’s not like we were going to give them the two points. We competed. We frustrated them with our system. I know we got out shot, but we really managed that game pretty good.”

This was a rough loss for the Blackhawks as every point counts. They have two teams chasing them for the 8^th spot in the Western Conference, and both of those teams won on Sunday. Chicago (42-28-8) started the day three points ahead of the ninth-place Calgary Flames – who beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 – and five points ahead of the 10th-place Dallas Stars, who downed the Anaheim Ducks 4-3. The only good news for the Hawks is they still trail the seventh-place Ducks by just one point and have four games left. Calgary has just two games left, while Dallas also has four to play – all against teams that are out of the playoff hunt.

Chicago captain Jonathon Toews said he wasn’t concerned with his minus one rating, and the team just had one goal-to get into the playoffs. He said “It’s not about points. Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen – but you’ve got to be prepared for it. We’ve got to prepare to be a team that goes farther in the playoffs than just the first round. We’re not going to be satisfied with that.” He continued “We want to prepare to be a better team and be a team that’s going to compete far into the playoffs. Whether you have momentum going into the playoffs or not … we don’t want to keep playing like this, that’s for sure.”

The Hawks have rough four games, and all of them are must win games at this point. They have road games this week against the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings, and home games against the St. Louis Blues and Red Wings on Sunday to finish the season.