Still without a goal in the postseason, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said he has been able to create scoring chances despite the strong defensive effort against him by Detroit Red Wings veteran Henrik Zetterberg.
"I'm not as worried about him as maybe you guys think I should be," Toews told the media. "He's a good player. I'm obviously trying to limit his scoring chances when he gets the puck, but I'm still getting chances. He's doing a great job of playing smart, defensive hockey, but it doesn't mean I'm not getting chances and not getting to the net. Those chances are coming, and at some point they have to go in."

The Red Wings have killed off nine straight Blackhawks' power plays heading into tonight's Game 5 at the United Center and helping to give Detroit a 3-1 series lead over the No. 1 seeded Chicago team.
The Blackhawks haven't converted on a man advantage since winning the opening game of the second-round series. "I think we've been able to do some good things, disrupt them up ice and make it hard for them," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "We know that they're so talented, all they need is once chance and the puck's in. We've been able to do a good job there, I think." The hot streak on penalty kills coincided with the return of left winger Drew Miller (broken thumb). He entered the series for Game 2, giving the Wings three options on the fourth line to use as penalty killers, in Miller, Patrick Eaves and Cory Emmerton. As Kronwall put it, "Millsie getting back in the lineup's been huge for us."

Jimmy Howard has not a future Hall of Famer -- not yet, anyway -- but the Detroit Red Wings' 29-year-old netminder has been solid all season and in the playoffs, and his performance haven't gone unrecognized by his teammates.
Howard has allowed only two goal in his past three games against the Chicago Blackhawks, who were favored to win this second-round playoff series but are down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and would be eliminated with a loss to Howard and mates tonight. There's talk that Howard is a strong candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the outstanding performer in the NHL's post-season. "I don't know if you can ask much more from Howie than what he's done for us since he's got here," veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall said of Howard, who has stopped 86 of 88 shots the last three games. "If you're not appreciating what he's doing right now, I don't know if you're a true fan, to be honest with you. That's how good he's been. He's been the backbone of our team."

For the past three games in their second-round playoff series against the Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks have gotten a mere two goals past Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard -- both by Patrick Kane.
It's largely why the Blackhawks are looking up at a 3-1 deficit in these Western Conference semifinals, and largely why they're on the verge of being eliminated tonight. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, however, has a plan. He's asking his players to create more traffic in front of Howard. "We've had some quality shots. We'd like more quality with traffic," Quenneville said following Friday's team meeting and optional practice. "He's been challenging. We're getting decent looks, but more traffic would make it more challenging." The Blackhawks have had their shots and they've hit their posts and crossbars. Those iron shots have been especially frustrating, since they represent the few they've actually gotten past Howard. They need those to go in, obviously. They also need more shots that Howard doesn't see. "I think we have a lot of shots in these games, but maybe we have to go in and try to have a good screen on him and make sure he doesn't see the puck," C

Jonathan Toews continues to remain publicly positive despite the fact that he and the Chicago Blackhawks trail the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in their best-of-seven, second-round playoff series.
"Our best players need to be our best," the Chicago captain said. "We need to lead, grab the rope and start pulling for the rest of the guys, and that starts with me." The odds don't favor the Blackhawks here. Teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series about eight percent of the time. The Blackhawks almost came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Vancouver Canucks two springs ago, losing to them in a Game 7 overtime. They'll keep that memory in the front of their minds when the puck drops tonight. "It just goes to show that things like that are possible," Toews said. "We were very close to winning that series. I'm sure Detroit knows and we know this series is long from being over. (Tonight's) going to be the toughest game for both. We'll keep that (thought) in our hip pocket."