The Chicago Blackhawks didn't have the best end to their season. On Sunday, they fell to the Detroit Red Wings in the final game of their regular season, losing a chance to control their own destiny in terms of their playoff lives.
Blackhawks Vs. Canucks, Game 1: Chicago Hopes History Can Threepeat As Playoffs Get Underway
Luckily for them, the Dallas Stars also failed to control their own destiny, and as a result, the Blackhawks fell into the 2011 postseason and they still hold a chance to defending their Stanley Cup. Of course, the prize for "earning" that final playoff spot isn't exactly the best, as they'll face off against the President's Trophy-winning, No. 1-seeded Vancouver Canucks.
You won’t find the Blackhawks complaining, though. They have plenty of reason to be confident heading into the series, as they’ve defeated the Canucks in the playoffs two years running. These aren’t the same teams, but there’s obviously a good deal of mental gamesmanship going on here.
Will that mental edge be enough for Chicago? The Canucks are stacked up and down the lineup this year, which you probably knew from one glance at the NHL standings, and now that they’re healthy on defense, there’s no indication that they’ll be letting up any time soon.
Corey Crawford is in net for the Blackhawks on Wednesday night as the teams battle in Game 1 at Rogers Arena. He'll go up against Roberto Luongo, and the game should be a pretty good indication of how these teams match up now that it's playoff time. On paper, it looks like it's all Canucks, but Game 1 could go a long way towards getting Chicago back into the conversation.
You can catch the game on Versus in the U.S. and CBC in Canada. For a full schedule of Wednesday’s playoff action, including detailed TV information, click here. You can find full SBNation.com coverage of this series here, while our blogs, Second City Hockey and Nucks Misconduct, also have you covered.
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