Blackhawks Vs. Canucks: Vancouver Takes 4-3 Win, Owns 2-0 Series Lead

The Chicago Blackhawks found the back of the net three ties on Friday night after failing to score in the first game of their Stanley Cup playoff matchup against the Anaheim Ducks, but it wasn’t enough. After a wild third period filled with back-and-forth action, the Canucks took care of the Blackhawks, 4-3. The win puts Vancouver up 2-0 in the series as it heads to Chicago for game three.

Vancouver drew first blood as Jannik Hansen came out of the penalty box to hit pay-dirt in the first period. In the second, Chicago finally broke its scoreless streak in the series, but Vancouver scored two more goal to widen its lead to 3-1. Daniel Sedin and Alexander Edler registered goals for the Canucks while Ben Smith put the Blackhawks on the board in the period.

The Chicago Blackhawks finally solved Roberto Luongo, but it may have been too late. The Vancouver Canucks draw first blood in the first period, then followed it up with another goal just 30 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0. Daniel Sedin found the back of the net near the end of the Canucks’ power play with a little help from Christian Ehrhoff and Ryan Kesler.

For the first time in this series, spanning nearly five periods, Chicago found the back of the net. Just under 15 minutes into the second period, Ben Smith’s wrister, assisted by Bryan Bickell and Brian Campbell, broke the dry streak and gave Chicago a glimmer of hope as the Blackhawks cut the Vancouver lead to one, 2-1.

The Chicago Blackhawks were given a golden chance to begin game two as Vancouver Canucks winger Jannik Hansen was whistled for holding, giving Chicago an early power play. Even with the added man, the Blackhawks were unable to pose a serious threat, registering just two shots during the power play, both of which were blocked. With two minutes expired, Chicago and Vancouver were back to even strength and still level on the scoreboard.

Hansen came charging out of the box and made a near-immediate impact, finding the back of the neck just a few seconds after the power play ended, giving Vancouver a 1-0 lead. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin were credited with the assists after Hansen found himself free in front of the net and beat Corey Crawford near-post.

As a whole, the Canucks team looked extremely solid in Game 1, and they looked like a team that could finally overcome two years of failure against this Blackhawks team. If you’re a Chicago fan, however, you’re hoping that what you saw in the latter portion of the game is what’s going to carry over to Friday night’s Game 2.

More pucks on Luongo, quality chances, and yes, miracle saves. Surely, Luongo can’t be that good again (if he is, the Canucks have this thing in the bag), so it’s just a matter of plugging away and hoping he turns human again.