Blackhawks Vs. Canucks, Game 7: Burrows’ Early Goal Makes It 1-0 Vancouver After One Period

The Vancouver Canucks are looking to avoid an embarrassing series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in this Western Conference Quarterfinal series. The Canucks took a 3-0 lead in the series, only to see the Blackhawks come back to even it up and force Game 7. However, a quick goal from Alex Burrows made it 1-0 for Vancouver after 20 minutes at Rogers Arena.

The first goal came early. Vancouver was able to get a rush ahead while the Blackhawks were on a bad change, especially with their defense. Ryan Kesler was left alone to feed it in front to Alex Burrows. He easily beat Corey Crawford, who was without a chance on the play, to make it 1-0. It was Burrows’ second goal of the series, and Kesler’s (who’s yet to deposit one in the Conference Quarters) fourth assist at 2:43. The Blackhawks were able to slow it down a little bit from there, but the first goal is always massive in a Game 7.

The Hawks started to take a little bit of control mid-way through, and definitely seemed to survive the typical first 10 minutes of hell the road team usually faces in these things. Roberto Luongo, who’s been through a total mess of problems the past few days, played very well in the first. He made a big stop on Jonathan Toews as he looked to be on the door-step. He made 12 saves overall in the first.

The Blackhawks saw a ton of pressure when Brent Seabrook went off for cross checking at 16:21. They survived on the strength of Corey Crawford’s play. Despite the first goal, Crawford was alright in period one, making seven saves on eight shots. The Blackhawks must come back a goal, but they’ve kept things manageable for now. The key will be (obviously) to get this game tied before it becomes any worse.