Blackhawks Vs. Canucks Final Score: Vancouver Takes Commanding Series Lead With 4-3 Win

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.

In the third, Viktor Stalberg beat Luongo near-post, squeezing it in just between his skate and the post to cut the Anaheim lead to one again, 3-2, putting the Blackhawks back in business. Sedin added insurance for the Canucks midway through the period, giving Vancouver a two-goal lead, 4-2. Ben Smith answered for Chicago, setting up a wild final minute.

With no goalie and six attacking players, Chicago put Roberto Luongo under fire in the final minute of Friday’s matchup, but failed to find the tying goal as Vancouver secured a 4-3 win. The Canucks held a slight advantage in shots, 27-25. Each team had four penalty minutes.

Full series coverage: Our blogs: Nucks Misconduct for the Vancouver perspective, Second City Hockey from Chicago. You can find complete SBNation.com coverage here.