Whatever it was, the Chicago Blackhawks finally found that extra gear they talked about for days.

Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger scored in the third period, Corey Crawford made 20 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in the opener of their second-round playoff series Wednesday night.

“Much better from our prior series,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought what we’re talking about in our team game was in place. Had some pace, had some speed, zone time, and I thought everybody contributed.”

In the wake of Chicago’s five-game victory over Minnesota in the first round, Quenneville talked about a higher level of intensity, and each of his biggest stars echoed his comments. The response was a dominant final two periods in the Blackhawks’ first game in the Western Conference semifinals since they won the Stanley Cup in 2010.

Marian Hossa had the opening goal in the first, and Patrick Sharp finished with an empty-netter and two assists to give him nine points in the postseason.

“I thought it was our best game of the playoffs, no question,” Sharp said.

Jimmy Howard had 38 stops in a terrific performance, but Detroit still lost to rival Chicago for the eighth straight time dating to last season.

“I think in the first it was pretty even, but then I think in the second and third they looked like they had a little more energy than we did,” Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s going to be nice to have a day off tomorrow and practice and then looking forward to Game 2.”

The series resumes on Saturday at the United Center.

The 75th all-time playoff game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings was tied at 1 after two periods, and Howard made a great stop on a breakaway by Dave Bolland 4 1/2 minutes into the third.

Chicago kept working and went in front to stay on a heady play by Oduya. He drifted in from the point and sent Sharp’s pass past Howard on the glove side with 12 minutes left.

“Getting the win is the only thing that actually matters,” Oduya said. “Like I said, anyone could have scored that goal at that point. We had a lot of chances, and I’m lucky I got it in there.”

Kruger then jumped on a loose puck and sent a backhander into the upper right corner to make it 3-1. That was more than enough for Crawford, who caught a break when Damien Brunner’s rebound attempt went off the crossbar and straight down before Brent Seabrook swept it away with about three minutes left.

The opener of the 16th playoff series between the Original Six teams was the first game for Chicago since it eliminated Minnesota last Thursday. Detroit closed out Anaheim with a 3-2 win in Game 7 on Sunday night, taking the final two games of the series against the second-seeded Ducks.

Despite the long break, there was no sign of rust for the Blackhawks. The Red Wings skated right with Chicago at the start, but they couldn’t keep up at the end of the game and coach Mike Babcock said they were looking forward to a day off.

“We’re not trying to take anything away from them,” he said. “They were better than us. The score tonight was more than fair as far as I’m concerned. They were better.”

The Blackhawks struck first in the first playoff game between the teams since Detroit won the 2009 Western Conference final. With Gustav Nyquist in the box for hooking, Sharp forced a turnover along the boards and Jonathan Toews sent the puck to Hossa, who one-timed it past Howard at 9:03.

Detroit needed less than two minutes to respond, tying it when Brunner poked in a rebound for his third career playoff goal. The rookie center also contributed three assists in the first round against the Ducks.

The Blackhawks killed off two power plays created by penalties on Andrew Shaw. They killed off another one when Nick Leddy was sent off for delay of game in the second period, making them a perfect 20 for 20 on the penalty kill in the postseason and sinking Detroit to 1 for 18 on power plays against Chicago, including the regular season.

“We know that we’re a much better team than this,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “The second and third period were not nearly good enough. We know we’re better than this, so we have to find to get better here for Game 2.”

Game notes

It was the 800th game between the teams. … Detroit F Justin Abdelkader was shaken up after he collided with Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival in the first period. He was helped to the bench after a few moments down on the ice, but eventually returned to the game. … Blackhawks F Viktor Stalberg was a healthy scratch. Quenneville said it was a “coach’s decision” and Stalberg could get back on the ice at any point. … Toews and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings joined Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins as finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. … Chicago won eight of the previous 15 playoff series against Detroit.

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It just wasn’t always glamorous.

“Some people may think I’ve been crazy all those years, taking thousands of cross-checkings to my neck, to my head, to my back,” Holmstrom said. “Then having my teammates shooting hundred-mile-an-hour pucks at me.”

Holmstrom made his retirement official Tuesday after 15 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, announcing it at a news conference before the team’s home opener against Dallas. The gritty winger helped Detroit to four Stanley Cup titles with his hard-nosed play in front of the net. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 2006 with Sweden.

Holmstrom will turn 40 on Wednesday. Last season, he had 11 goals and 13 assists in 74 games — the 24 points were his fewest since 1997-98, his second season.

Last season was the second of a two-year deal for Holmstrom, and the lockout postponed any final word on whether he would be back this season.

“It’s been a long career,” he said. “I could maybe play one more year, play 48 games, but I want to do something else, too. I’m going to play tennis. I’m going to do so much other stuff.”

Holmstrom finished his NHL career with 243 goals and 287 assists in 1,024 regular-season games. He made his debut in 1996, and Detroit won the first of two straight Stanley Cup championships that season.

The Red Wings also won in 2002 and 2008.

“It’s been a wonderful journey, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.

Holmstrom played in 180 postseason games, scoring 46 goals with 51 assists.

“I had the greatest job in the world,” Holmstrom said. “Now it’s time to move on.”

These goodbyes are becoming commonplace for the Red Wings, who also lost star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom to retirement. Now new captain Henrik Zetterberg and standout forward Pavel Datsyuk are Detroit’s main attractions — but Holmstrom’s work ethic and willingness to take punishment around the net will be missed.

“Aggravating the goaltender, aggravating the other team’s defensemen,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “Paid the price night after night after night.”

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