Viktor Stalberg Says Pressure is Off of Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Blackhawks are fighting for their playoff lives Monday night in Detroit, but don’t tell that to Viktor Stalberg. According to The Detroit News, the Stalberg said that the pressure has shifted from the Blackhawks to the Red Wings in Game 6 and that Detroit will “feel it” when the puck drops on Monday night.
“Coming into the series I think the pressure was on us because people expected us to win, and we didn’t really play the way we wanted to those first four games,” Stalberg said. “I felt like we had nothing to lose going into Game 5 and we wanted to take the chance to get the momentum back on our side and get rolling a little bit.”
While Stalberg may be trying to get back on the good side of head coach Joel Quenneville, the pressure is still clearly on the Blackhawks to win Game 6. A loss on Monday night ends their season which would mean the once promising year would come to a bitter and devastatingly disappointing finish.
The fight to not sweat the pressure is personal to Stalberg who was benched earlier in the series after under performing and was tasked with proving himself worthy of a spot on one of Chicago’s lines. The Blackhawks need everything they have to fire at the Red Wings in Game 6 as they have yet to win on the road in this series and have one just one game on the road all postseason.
“We know they’re going to feel the pressure, especially tonight trying to close it out in front of their fans,” Stalberg said. “I don’t think they want to go back for Game 7 in our building. I think the pressure is definitely on them and they are going to come out strong tonight. We have to find a way to weather the storm right off the bat, and if we do that I think we have a good chance.”
Since the Blackhawks win in Minnesota back in Game 4 of that series, Chicago has been win-less on the road and it’s a streak they’ll need to snap in order to extend their series and return home.