When Darryl Sutter played for the Blackhawks, he challenged his opponents. As a Hawks associate coach, he challenges his players.
”St. Louis` best players aren`t the only ones who have to play better-so do ours,” he said Sunday, alluding to Blues bomber Brett Hull firing duds in his team`s 3-1 loss to the Hawks Saturday night in Game 1 of their Norris Division semifinal series.
Sutter didn`t want to hear that Jeremy Roenick and Steve Larmer were so tightly checked they couldn`t score. ”They weren`t checked that bad,” he said. ”Nothing special was done against them. They played average.”
Coach Mike Keenan put it simply: ”Roenick has to play better.”
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An admission: The medical report will continue to list winger Michel Goulet as day-to-day. But Keenan finally admitted the possibility exists he will miss the entire first-round series with his groin injury.
”Chances are, he will,” Keenan said. ”It`s hard to get a handle on the situation. He seemed better, and then yesterday he was worse. It goes back and forth, and I don`t know why.”
Big shot: Without Goulet`s offense, it was critical that winger Brian Noonan scored twice Saturday. Noonan hadn`t scored in his final 10 regular-season games and had just two goals in 14 games since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him Feb. 1.
”Guys like myself have to produce, and I have to get it in the back of my mind I can do it regularly,” said Noonan, whose easygoing personality has led some to accuse him falsely of lacking intensity.
Not yet: Don`t ask Keenan if he would prefer facing Detroit over Minnesota if the Hawks can reach the division finals. The North Stars upset the Red Wings in their opener Saturday, just as they did last year en route to knocking off the Hawks and experiencing a miracle run that ended when Pittsburgh beat them in the championship round.
”If we had a mental block against Minnesota, it would have showed in the regular season,” Keenan said. ”We don`t have one. We have a score to settle with them. But it`s too early to be talking about this.”
Old habits: Just because Los Angeles beat Edmonton out of second in the Smythe Division by two points doesn`t make the Oilers the underdogs in their first-round series with the Kings. Not in ex-Oiler Steve Smith`s book.
”In my mind, Edmonton`s the favorite,” Smith said. ”I know what that team is capable of come the postseason.”
By the book: If history is any judge, the Hawks have an edge over the Blues bigger than their current 1-0 lead in the series. The clubs have met seven different years in the playoffs and the only time the Blues won a series was in the 1988 division semifinals.