from Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times,
The Blackhawks are so used to finishing fast after starting slowly in a playoff series under Joel Quenneville, it’s almost seems like the Tampa Bay Lightning have the bigger chore ahead of them, even with a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Not quite, of course. The Lightning have been the better team in a closely played series, with the best player in defenseman Victor Hedman. They lead the series and have home-ice advantage. And most importantly, they’re playing like a championship team. The Lightning arguably have played the Hawks’ game as well as any team the Hawks have faced since winning their first Cup in 2010. These aren’t the Ducks — a formidable, worthy opponent that didn’t have that something extra that is needed to beat the Hawks.
Nonetheless, with captain Jonathan Toews setting the all-important tone in a critical moment of the series, the Hawks are resolute in their belief that they control their destiny — that it’s just a matter of staying at it, playing their game and eventually they will impose their will on the youthful, quickly-maturing Lightning.
Toews elucidated that approach clearly Tuesday when asked if there was anything in particular about what the Lightning are doing that the Hawks have to address.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
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