Sticking with Crawford

DETROIT – Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he’s not going to change goalies after dropping Game 2.

“We’re fine with Corey (Crawford) right now,” Quenneville said. “I like the way he’s played. He’s played very strong for us all year. (He had an) excellent first round and a real good start to this series.”

Babcock on Damien Brunner: “He scores.”

DETROIT – When Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock talks about Damien Brunner he always finds a way to fit in two words, “he scores.”

Babcock is correct.

Brunner netted his fourth goal of the postseason in Detroit’s 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 Saturday afternoon.

“He wants the puck and he scores,” Babcock said. “Anybody who wants the puck and plays with the kind of speed he has is valuable. He’s going to get better just because he’s going to get bigger and stronger, he’s going to learn the league more. He’s better defensively already. We think we’ve got a good player.”

The goal ties him for the team lead in the playoffs with Johan Franzen.

He’s also second on the team, tied with Pavel Datsyuk in points, with seven.

“He’s a sniper,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “That’s what he’s been doing all along for us, all season long. We’re happy to have him. He finds a way to get goals.”

And Sunday’s goal was one where he just skated through the slot and redirected in soft, floating shot from the point by Jakub Kindl.

“I really don’t think he has a clue what’s going on,” goalie Jimmy Howard said. “I don’t think he understands the realm of things, of what could possibly happen here as the playoffs unfold. He’s in a good mood every single day. He comes to the rink with a smile on his face and when he’s out there he’s doing the right things. He’s going to the net. When you’re out there and competing like he’s competing, pucks go in for you.”

Brunner also netted the Wings’ lone goal in Game 1 and would have had a second one, but Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook was able to whack his shot out of midair to keep it from crossing the goal line.

“He’s a smart player, he’s scored a lot of goals in his career, he keeps doing it,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said.

Zetterberg has known Brunner the longest in the locker room after playing with him in the Swiss National A league during the lockout.

“I saw that he was a good player,” Zetterberg said. “He’s really good offensively. He still has some to learn defensively. But when you start playing in the system, you start learning that and I think he’s been improving all year.

“He’s strong on his stick, he’s strong when he battles for the puck,” Zetterberg added. “I think he improved a lot in protecting the puck. In (Switzerland) you don’t have to protect the puck that much in the offensive end, but I think he’s become a lot better since he came here.”

Brunner’s first season in the NHL has had its share of highs and share of lows.

In the third period of Game 3 in the Wings’ opening series with Anaheim, Brunner had the puck stripped away by the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf at the end of a long shift, just as a Wings power play was about to expire, and it led to Anaheim’s second goal in a 4-0 victory.

In Game 4, Brunner followed up a rush by Gustav Nyquist and banged home the game winner in a Wings 3-2 win in overtime over the Ducks.

“It’s a new experience, also the travel, going back and forth and playing every other day,” Brunner said. “We got used to that already during the season so that helped a little bit. But it’s fun. It’s intense and all the fans are into it so it’s a lot of fun out there.”

Brunner also seemed to hit a wall during the regular season as well.

After getting off to a torrid pace with 10 goals in his first 19 games to start the season, Brunner went 15 games without scoring a goal. He also found himself a healthy scratch one game during the slump.

Since Babcock took Brunner off one of the top two lines, it has seemed to re-engage his forward and now that third line, which is rounded out by Nyquist and Joakim Andersson, is flying.

“Obviously I’m happy that the puck’s bouncing for me right now,” Brunner said.

Wings play a full 60 minutes against Blackhawks to even series

CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings wanted to play a better game than the performance they turned in Game 1 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

They did just that Saturday afternoon at the United Center and now head back to Detroit with the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with Chicago all tied up 1-1.

“They were a lot better than us (in Game 1) and skated a lot more and I think we just wanted to prove for ourselves that we could play a better game and we did,” said Henrik Zetterberg after the Wings’ 4-1. “When you start on the road you have as a goal to get one and we did that. We just have to move on and look forward to next game at the Joe. The fans were going to be great for us as it was in the first series. We’re looking forward to seeing them Monday.”

Game 3 is Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena.

“The biggest thing is we played for 60 minutes,” Jonathan Ericsson said. “We played for 20 minutes last game, (Jimmy Howard) saved us for a little while, but he can’t stand on his head the whole game. We know we’re going to give up some time in our zone, but we have to keep them on the outside and not in front of the net and that was the biggest thing that helped us today.”

Damien Brunner, Brendan Smith, Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula all scored for Detroit, while Howard needed to make just 19 saves.

Patrick Kane got Chicago’s goal and Corey Crawford stopped 26 shots.

“We wanted to skate,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We didn’t skate at all (in Game 1). I actually thought we were all right the first period when they didn’t skate the last game. When they started to skate we couldn’t keep up. This was a better game for us, obviously, we gave them less space.”

The win snaps an eight-game losing skid to the Blackhawks and now gives the Detroit home-ice advantage in the series.

“I don’t know if that makes any difference whatsoever,” Babcock said when asked about home-ice advantage. “They got a real good club. They’ve been good all year. We’ve got a real good club now. We haven’t been good all year. We just got better. So we kept getting better. We’re confident in our group. We think we can be in this series and we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Detroit also took Game 2 in its first round matchup with Anaheim before taking the Ducks down in seven.

“I think this is our best game of the playoffs,” Howard said. “What better time than to play it today. We needed to get a win here, get a split. The guys definitely responded after Game 1.”

Chicago’s only other loss this postseason game on the road in Game 3 in Minnesota.

“We went through lot of negative clips, but not in a negative way,” Babcock said. “We were just showing them we didn’t do what we do, we didn’t do what we were supposed to do, how can you be any good? I thought the guys responded. As soon as they saw it, they knew and they knew how we could be better.”

Chicago opened the scoring late in the first period, taking advantage of a blunder by Smith just outside the Blackhawks’ blue line.

Smith decided not to pinch and then had his stick lifted by Patrick Sharp which led to a 2-on-1 going the other way. Kyle Quincey slid along ice to break up the pass from Sharp, but the rebound went to Michal Handzus and he fed it quickly to Kane for his first goal of the playoffs.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a wake-up call,” Jonathan Toews said. “I think we know exactly what we need to improve on and do it right away. There’s no time to waste in the series and we know going into their building it’s going to be even more difficult than it was today. So, turn the page and make sure we’re better in Game 3.”

The Wings got the equalizer after some great work by the third line less than three minutes into the second period. Jakub Kindl softly flung a puck on goal that deflected off Brunner’s stick as he skated through the slot to beat an unsuspecting Crawford.

“We’re in the series now,” said Brunner after his fourth goal of the playoffs. “Our fans are probably excited waiting for us to come home. We’re expecting a good atmosphere at The Joe and hopefully we’ve got some wins for them.”

The Wings jumped in front 2-1 when Zetterberg swooped in as Niklas Hjalmarsson fell in the Blackhawks’ zone. Zetterberg dragged the puck below the goal line and fed a pass to Smith streaking in from the blue line for the one timer.

The goal was Smith’s second of the playoffs, coming late in the second period.

“We understood before the game that if we fell down 2-0 we’re done,” Kyle Quincey said. “This was a must win. Now we have hope and we like our chances at home. We just have to keep it going.”

Franzen gave the Wings a 3-1 lead after receiving a nice stretch pass from Jonathan Ericsson, blue line to blue line, sending the winger in and he snapped a wrist shot just inside the post over Crawford’s shoulder.

Filppula put the finishing touches on things, taking a drop pass from Zetterberg and using a pick from Daniel Cleary he backhanded a shot between Crawford’s pads.

“It’s important confidence-wise for those guys, but also I thought those guys really dug in today,” Babcock said of Franzen and Filppula. “If we can be gritty and determined on the puck and limit their space, then it’s series on. If we can’t skate with them, the rest of that stuff won’t matter. If you work real hard and play with good structure and you believe in one another, then it’s series on and guys will score some goals. If we don’t then it’ll be like Game 1.”

Third period wonders

CHICAGO — The Wings finally held a team down in the third period after taking a two-goal lead into the third period of Game 2.

“I think we kept playing,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “We didn’t sit back, we wanted to go for the next goal and it was nice to see when (Valtteri Filppula) got that fourth one. We kind of finished the game.”

Johan Franzen and Filppula each scored in the third.

“We just kept doing what we do in the first two periods and we had good success,” Damien Brunner said.

The Wings had been outscored 15-5 in the third period heading into Game 2.

Miller feels good after first game back since breaking a finger on April 20

CHICAGO – Drew Miller returned from a broken finger he suffered on April 20 and felt OK after the game.

“When you come back you try to be ready to go, I skated a lot and my hand felt fine,” Miller said “I had no issues with it the whole game. We go from here. First period there were a couple of shifts that I had to get the feel back of just getting back in the game. As the game went on I felt better.”

Miller did take a crushing blow near the end of the third period by Brent Seabrook.

“When I was getting the puck out and I think that was the biggest test for my hand,” Miller said. “He hit me on that hand side. I was fine. I made the play and didn’t have any problem with it.”

Zetterberg: “He creates a lot of stuff, sometimes for both teams.”

CHICAGO – Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg didn’t hold back when asked about teammate Brendan Smith.

“He creates a lot of stuff, sometimes for both teams,” Zetterberg said with a slight grin Saturday after the Wings’ 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at the United Center. “He’s young, he’s still learning. He learns every game. It’s nice to see he had a bounce back game.”

Smith was raked over the coals after the Wings’ 4-1 loss in Game 1, by TV analysts and then on social media.

“That’s a fair judgment,” Smith said when told of Zetterberg’s quote.

Smith had another gaff Saturday that led to the Blackhawks’ only goal, but then he recovered to net the game winner off a nice feed from Zetterberg.

“I just lost the battle with Sharp and he made great play,” Smith said of Chicago’s goal. “I think I just under-estimated his strength and his speed. It’s something that I have to do better.

“Actually, at the end of the game I did better and made sure that I was on the defensive side,” Smith said. “You see how quick it can change like that and I how quick they can get a chance like that. It’s just those little things that I have to be working on.”

Smith decided not to pinch and then had his stick lifted by Sharp which led to a 2-on-1 going the other way and eventually a goal.

“I thought Smith was outstanding,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

Smith trailed the play before jumping in to receive a pass from below the goal line from Zetterberg and he one-timed a shot into the open net.

“There wasn’t as much of a back-check and I seemed to have a little more speed than one of the forwards, so I just beat him to the front of the net,” Smith said. “He’s so fantastic with the puck, I think he put it through (Duncan Keith’s) legs and I put it into the open net. It was kind of a gimme for myself. Just being in the right place at the right time, so it’s kind of like a Damien Brunner goal.”

Defense partner Kyle Quincey keeps telling Smith to keep doing what he’s doing and continue to have a short memory.

“He’s a very emotional guy and I try to tell him, good or bad, it’s a job that we have,” Quincey said. “We get paid to play a game and it’s a game of mistakes and whoever makes the fewest wins. When you score everything is good, but every shift is the exact same. Overtime is the exact thing as the first period. Just keep going. We had a few bad bounces against us. I really didn’t hear what grief he took, but that’s the rumor. It’s good to see him respond. It was a tough one on the first goal but it was good to see him bounce back there.

“It’s taken me a long time to kind of let it roll off my back and he’ll learn the hard way,” Quincey added. “I’ve been there done it. It’s fun to watch him get better and better after every game. I just try to tell him that it’s just a game.”

Smith, who didn’t score a goal in the regular season, saw just over 16 minutes of ice time, registered three shots and blocked two shots.

“It’s huge for me confidence and just for our team because it was such a big game,” Smith said. “I had some things to work on from last game and there are still a lot of things that I have to work on. But hockey is a weird game and sometimes the bounces go your way.”

Late in the regular season Smith found himself a healthy scratch for two straight games after his coach wanted him to look after the puck better. Prior to his benching he had gone five consecutive games by registering a minus-1 rating.

“Coach will tell you how it is,” Smith said. “If you don’t play very well, he’ll tell you. I think we both kind of went over things and we didn’t think all the criticism I got wasn’t as bad as people were saying. If I did a much worse game, he would have told me and would have been honest.”

Smith was called on to play a huge role this season after the Wings lost Nicklas Lidstrom (retirement) and Brad Stuart (trade).

Stalberg sits Game 2

CHICAGO — Chicago coach Joel Quenneville has decided to sit Viktor Stalberg a second straight game.

“When you asked before about changing the lineup we had to get (Dave Bolland) into the lineup in Minnesota,” Quenneville said. “I don’t like changing too much, but we wanted to get him in our lineup and kind of comparable to what we’ve done throughout the season. But we’ll see. We’re not, you know, we can adapt and change at any moment.”

Stalberg played all five games in the Blackhawks open series win over the Wild.

“(The) Stalberg situation is that because things went so well in Game 1, why change?,” Quenneville said.

Can Wings dispose of a second Jack Adams Award finalist

CHICAGO — The Wings disposed of one Jack Adams Award finalist this postseason.

Can they make it two?

On Friday, Quenneville was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which is presented to the head coach that contributed the most to his team’s success.

Anaheim’s Bruce Boudreau, whose team was eliminated from the playoffs in seven games by Detroit, and Ottawa’s Paul MacLean, a former Wings assistant coach, are the other finalists.

The Blackhawks began the season by earning a point in each of their first 24 games, going 21-0-3, to shatter the previous best mark to open the season of 16, which was set by Anaheim in 2006-07.

“Getting our team ready right off the bat was something that we were excited about getting back playing,” Quenneville said when asked about the challenges of the work stoppage that led to a compact season. “We wanted to make sure our goals-against was at a regular or normal number. I thought last year was abnormal. And make sure our special teams improved at the start of the year. Getting off to a strong start was a point of emphasis.”

Chicago ended up with the President’ Trophy with the league’s best record, 36-7-5.

“I commend the guys for the way they organized themselves individually and collectively to get off to a good start,” Quenneville said. “That worked out nicely. We had a great start to our season. It was a fun year from our perspective as a coaching staff. It was one of those years where it was almost like automatic pilot. I don’t think it’s that easy, but certainly things fell into place in good ways and I think we had some real nice assets to work with in a lot of ways.”

The Blackhawks finished first overall in team defense (2.02 goals-against per game), second in offense (3.10 goals per game) and third in penalty killing (87.2-percent).

Quenneville won the award his only other time he was named a finalist, which with St. Louis in 1999-2000.

Chicago posted a 26-2-1 mark when scoring first and were 26-1-2 when leading after two periods.

Stalberg in or out?

CHICAGO – After playing all five games of the Blackhawks’ opening round, forward Viktor Stalberg now finds himself out of the lineup.

“I felt pretty good in the first series, the puck maybe didn’t bounce my way there in the end, but I think we were a pretty effective line,” Stalberg said. “I think he wasn’t happy with the team performance, he chose to take me out of the lineup and that’s how it is. I’ll live with that. It’s frustrating. I’ll do anything I can to support the guys and to be back in the lineup as soon as I get the chance and try to be effective once I get back in there.”

Coach Joel Quenneville didn’t say if Stalberg would be back in for Game 2 or not.

“It was short, standard I think,” Stalberg said when asked how his coach relayed the information. “Just be more intense out there, play harder, most of the guys here that when they’re not playing, nothing too different. He wants me to produce more and be more effective out there so hopefully when I get back I’ll try and make a difference.”

Quote of the day … Henrik Zetterberg

CHICAGO – Henrik Zetterberg’s response when asked if Johan Franzen should be more ornery on the ice.

“He could be pretty mean but I think he’s playing the best hockey when he’s a little grumpy,” Zetterberg said. “I think maybe it’s up to us to get him a little bit grumpy before the games.”