DETROIT – Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has a chance to exorcise some Red demons in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Detroit Red Wings have tormented Quenneville in the playoffs everywhere his NHL coaching career has taken him, going 5-0 against his clubs in the postseason.

It started in St. Louis, when the Red Wings ousted Quenneville's Blues in 1997 (4-2), 1998 (4-2) and 2002 (4-1). In 2008, the Red Wings swept Quenneville's Colorado Avalanche. Quenneville joined the Blackhawks the following season and lost to the Red Wings in the conference finals (4-1).

The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup after the first four times they beat a Quenneville-coached club and nearly did it a fifth time in 2009, but lost to Pittsburgh in the seventh game of the Cup finals.

Asked by Chicago media this week if he feels he hasn't beaten the Red Wings when it has really counted, Quenneville said, “I thought every time we’ve played them it counted. When I say that, it’s always an important game. The rivalry, the standings, four-point swings, so I think the games were always meaningful for us. I’m sure they were for them.''

Quenneville has a 6-20 playoff record vs. Detroit, but he's never had the better team.

This year is different. It is the first time Quenneville's club has faced the Red Wings in the playoffs after finishing above them in the standings.

Quenneville does know what it's like to beat the Red Wings in the playoffs. He was an assistant coach under Marc Crawford in 1996, when Colorado defeated Detroit in the conference finals.