Winner Of Toews-Bergeron Battle Likely To End Up Hoisting Stanley Cup
By Steve Silverman-
(CBS) It really was just one of those games.
The Blackhawks worked harder and were more efficient in Game 4 than they had been in Game 3 and they exploited a number of Bruins mistakes that Boston is not likely to make the next time out.
But there’s only one thing that happened in Game 4 that the Blackhawks and Joel Quenneville should feel good about heading into the final three games – quite likely – of this series. That’s the return of Jonathan Toews to the scoring column.
The other things, such as a poor game by Zdeno Chara and a less-than-stellar effort by Tuukka Rask in the Boston net, where just happenstance. The Blackhawks haven’t figured anything out regarding those two players that they didn’t know earlier.
Chara is a monster who will crush opponents in front of the net and take the puck away when he initiates contact. However, if he’s standing still and the Blackhawks hit him, he will lose leverage and give away the puck.
Rask is going to stop nearly everything he can see, so you have to get traffic in front of him. That’s not a secret when it comes to beating top goalies. Whether it’s Rask, Jonathan Quick, Henrik Lundqvist, Patrick Roy or Ken Dryden, the best goalies can’t stop what they can’t see.
But going forward, Toews’ sweet-as-sugar deflection will carry over and that’s what the Blackhawks needed. Not only is he the Blackhawks’ best player, he is one of the two most honest players in the final.
An honest player is one who sells out every time he is on the ice. He honestly earns every dollar he is being paid because he gives it all on the defensive end and in the face-off circle as well as when he has a chance to score a goal.
Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins is the only other player who compares with Toews when it comes to honesty.
