The Detroit Red Wings host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, where Detroit can go up 2-1 in the series over No. 1 seeded Chicago.
Game 3 starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch it HERE.
Detroit looks to take the lead in the 1-1 series behind their youth movement. The group of young Red Wing players have improved since the regular season, and now find themselves with a chance to take the series lead on Monday.
"We've had a great growth from within, I think the most since I've been in the National Hockey League for sure," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said on Sunday. "That may be because we have a different type of team. We got a whole bunch of kids, so we have a chance for growth."
The Red Wings earned an impressive 4-1 victory at Chicago on Saturday. Detroit rookie Brendan Smith hit the game-winning goal in Game 2 to put his team up 2-1 in the second period.
Chicago admitted they expected a better performance from the Red Wings after their Game 1, according to the Associated Press.
"We knew they were going to come back and play much better than they did in Game 1," Blackhawks Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously, we didn't quite match the effort."
Chicago must now bounce back from their sobering defeat at home and try to regain the momentum of the series with a win at the Joe Louis Arena. Toews, who had 23 goals during the regular season, is struggling on offense for the third straight postseason.
If Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg can continue to stymie Toews with defense, they have a chance to advance even further in the NHL playoffs.
"Most nights, (Zetterberg) is the best player on the ice," Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. "No different from (Saturday), the way he was all over Toews the whole game, shutting him down. We're going to need that for the whole series."
"At the start of the year, we weren't a good team. We all understood that, but we buckled down and we got better." Babcock added. "It's been fun for us."
