Twin trouble: Hawks must contain Sedins
But for a few moments, they have been on this planet for the same amount of time, a little more than 29 1/2. Both have skated since they were 5 and played organized hockey since they were 7. They have been linemates since they were 13.
So is there anything Henrik or Daniel Sedin could do to surprise one another?
"Not really," Daniel Sedin said.
Nothing? Not a flinch, a glance, a nod, a shift of weight? The Canucks' twin engines have seen everything from each other, down to the most subtle shimmy?
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"Pretty much everything," Henrik Sedin said. "If it's not in games, it's in practice."
Contending with a telepathic top line that left a league tasting Swedish bitters will be the Blackhawks' greatest challenge in the Western Conference semifinals that begin Saturday night at the United Center.
Henrik Sedin scored a career-high and NHL-leading 112 points. Daniel Sedin amassed a career-best 85 points in just 63 games.
No team's top line boasts the same combination of firepower and hockey ESP, but then no top line features two players who literally have grown together since birth.
"You know they're going to get high-quality opportunities," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They have so many weapons and moves and plays with each other, there will be some things we've never seen before."
Actually, much of what the Sedins accomplished this season was unseen previously, even by them. Henrik's point total ? which earned a Hart Trophy nomination ? was 30 better than his previous best. Daniel's 1.35 points per game average projects to 110 over a full 82-game slate, or 26 better than his previous best campaign.
To the Sedins, it's a leap forged simply by evolving into more physical players who can stand up defensively and also have the confidence to pursue and retrieve and therefore possess the puck more.
"We do more out there on the ice," Henrik Sedin said. "We're better defensively, we create a lot more chances from good defensive play, we're better off the rush. Before we didn't score too many goals off the rush, but this year most of our goals have come off the rush.
"We're both stronger and tougher to defend. We're more confident. We make plays we didn't make before. It's a combination of a lot of things."
Even the Hawks dismiss the idea that simple airtight defense will suffice to stop the Sedins. They combined for a respectable 11 points in last year's six-game series when they weren't as combustible.
The Hawks' plan, then? Keep away.
"They take advantage of opportunities when maybe you're vulnerable and try to make the play in situations where you need to just play it safe," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "You have to try to limit your mistakes, but most of all try to keep the puck away from them and make them play in their own end."
The Sedins will be no surprise, to each other or to the Hawks. They are twin anchors in Chicago, predictable and yet entirely maddening.
"We do the same things on the ice," Daniel Sedin said. "It's not like we have any specialties out there. We try to play the same way, and that's what makes us so successful."
But for a few moments, they have been on this planet for the same amount of time, a little more than 29 1/2. Both have skated since they were 5 and played organized hockey since they were 7. They have been linemates since they were 13.
So is there anything Henrik or Daniel Sedin could do to surprise one another?
"Not really," Daniel Sedin said.
Nothing? Not a flinch, a glance, a nod, a shift of weight? The Canucks' twin engines have seen everything from each other, down to the most subtle shimmy?
Get more stories like this. Sign up for home delivery >>
"Pretty much everything," Henrik Sedin said. "If it's not in games, it's in practice."
Contending with a telepathic top line that left a league tasting Swedish bitters will be the Blackhawks' greatest challenge in the Western Conference semifinals that begin Saturday night at the United Center.
Henrik Sedin scored a career-high and NHL-leading 112 points. Daniel Sedin amassed a career-best 85 points in just 63 games.
No team's top line boasts the same combination of firepower and hockey ESP, but then no top line features two players who literally have grown together since birth.
"You know they're going to get high-quality opportunities," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They have so many weapons and moves and plays with each other, there will be some things we've never seen before."
Actually, much of what the Sedins accomplished this season was unseen previously, even by them. Henrik's point total ? which earned a Hart Trophy nomination ? was 30 better than his previous best. Daniel's 1.35 points per game average projects to 110 over a full 82-game slate, or 26 better than his previous best campaign.
To the Sedins, it's a leap forged simply by evolving into more physical players who can stand up defensively and also have the confidence to pursue and retrieve and therefore possess the puck more.
"We do more out there on the ice," Henrik Sedin said. "We're better defensively, we create a lot more chances from good defensive play, we're better off the rush. Before we didn't score too many goals off the rush, but this year most of our goals have come off the rush.
"We're both stronger and tougher to defend. We're more confident. We make plays we didn't make before. It's a combination of a lot of things."
Even the Hawks dismiss the idea that simple airtight defense will suffice to stop the Sedins. They combined for a respectable 11 points in last year's six-game series when they weren't as combustible.
The Hawks' plan, then? Keep away.
"They take advantage of opportunities when maybe you're vulnerable and try to make the play in situations where you need to just play it safe," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "You have to try to limit your mistakes, but most of all try to keep the puck away from them and make them play in their own end."
The Sedins will be no surprise, to each other or to the Hawks. They are twin anchors in Chicago, predictable and yet entirely maddening.
"We do the same things on the ice," Daniel Sedin said. "It's not like we have any specialties out there. We try to play the same way, and that's what makes us so successful."
