May 23, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) makes a save on a shot by Detroit Red Wings left wing Drew Miller (20) in the first period in game four of the second round for the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Talk about the skate being on the other foot.

Perhaps not my strongest analogy, but you get where I’m coming from here.

For decades the Red Wings have played the role of frontrunner in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and when the Big Red Machine lost it was almost always considered an upset.

It was definitely an upset in the 1994 playoffs when an errant Chris Osgood clearing attempt was flung into an empty cage by Jamie Baker, pacing the 8^th seeded San Jose Sharks to a first round victory over the heavily favoured 1^st seeded Detroit Red Wings.

It was surely a surprise in the 2003 playoffs when a Mike Babcock led Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team ousted a Hall of Fame ladened Detroit squad in just 4 games.

Or, how about the 2006 playoffs when the Stanley Cup favourite Red Wings were sent packing by the 8^th ranked Edmonton Oilers in the conference quarterfinals, yup that was an upset.

You get the idea here.  This year’s playoffs have presented us with a role reversal of sorts… a very pleasant one I might add.

Detroit’s 2013 postseason script is not one that anyone could have predicted, including Wings’ bench boss Mike Babcock who expressed his astonishment at his team’s current situation: “If you would’ve asked me two months ago I’d be shocked.”

Consider me shocked.  Yes, a 3-1 series lead for a Detroit team that had to win their last 4 games of the regular season just to be invited to the tournament seems to have caught everyone in hockey circles off guard.

I figured at best the Wings would be able to push this star studded Hawks team to 6 games. My gut feeling was the talent and depth of Chicago would be too much for a young and inexperienced Detroit blueline.

Yet, the exact opposite has occurred.  The Wings have taken control of this series for 5 reasons:

1. Detroit’s stars have outplayed Chicago’s big guns. 

2. The Wings’ 3^rd and 4^th lines have generated more offense without compromising their defensive zone responsibilities. 

3. Chicago’s d-core has been outperformed by a younger, quicker, and smarter Detroit defense core. 

4. Coach Q has been taken to school… a school that goes by the name of The Mike Babcock Coaching Clinic.

5. Jimmy Howard

For these reasons, Detroit has put themselves in a position where with a win tomorrow night in Illinois they could pull off the greatest upset in franchise history.

You think I’m being too dramatic? Think again.

This is a Chicago team that won 24 consecutive games in the regular season and features the likes of: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Duncan Keith.

On paper, the Hawks are one of the most talented teams the NHL has seen in recent memory. On paper, the Red Wings are an average hockey club.

Jimmy Devellano seems to agree with me. In an interview with Fox Sports Detroit, the Wings’ President recently stated that if Detroit managed to beat the Hawks, “it would be the upset of upsets.”

Fortunately, for the Red Wings, you don’t win Stanley Cups on paper.

And, on Saturday night, against all odds, Chicago just might receive their walking papers.

May 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Dave Bolland (36) scuffles with Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader (8) during the second period in game one of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

You aren’t going to hear any of them admit it in interviews, but the Chicago Blackhawks are frustrated.

How could they not be? They now trail 2-1 in their second round series with the Detroit Red Wings, a team that had to battle just to make the playoffs while they skated to the Presidents’ Trophy.

These are the same Red Wings, at least on paper, who they swept during four regular season meetings, including a 7-1 shellacking in Detroit. Now all of a sudden they’re headed into a Game 4 which, if not exactly a must win, is pretty darn close.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

And that’s without considering how the Blackhawks must feel about the way they lost Game 3, hitting the iron on three good scoring chances while watching Jimmy Howard stop almost everything that was on net. You already know they’re still steaming about the questionable goalie interference call on Andrew Shaw that wiped out an apparent game-tying goal.

With that in mind, the Red Wings have to be prepared for a Blackhawks team that is going to come out guns a-blazing on Thursday night. That means matching their speed and intensity, which were on display early in Game 3, as well as continuing to commit to the physical game. Chicago was out-hit 28-22 on Monday night but isn’t likely to allow that to happen again in a “backs against the wall” situation.

But based on the way every clock stoppage in the final two minutes turned into a scrum, the most important thing the Wings can do in Game 4 is to keep their cool. They can’t let the likes of Shaw and Bryan Bickell get to them, and with five-on-five play mostly going their way, they absolutely need to stay out of the penalty box.

Even with the return of Drew Miller giving the penalty killing unit a boost, the Blackhawks have looked much more dangerous with the man advantage so far. The best way to combat that is to avoid having the Chicago PP on the ice, which means playing smart and turning the other cheek if necessary.

Granted, the Wings don’t have too many guys known for taking retaliatory calls, but a few come to mind. Justin Abdelkader needs the edge to his game to be effective, but he can be goaded into penalties from time to time. Several members of the defense corps, including Kyle Quincey and Brendan Smith, can be drawn into some extracurricular activities too, and it will be vital for Niklas Kronwall to lead that group by example.

That doesn’t mean getting pushed around. More than one hockey commentator thinks that part of Detroit’s success so far is due to playing a tougher game than Chicago expected and/or prefers to play. It just calls for keeping cool as much as possible, even as the intensity of the series gets ratcheted up another notch.

In other words, Game 4 isn’t the time to do anything stupid. All the pressure, and yes, frustration, has shifted to the Blackhawks over the last two games. The best way to keep it there is to play smart hockey, pay the agitators no mind, and hopefully send them back to the Windy City down 3-1 and even more perplexed about how it all went wrong.