Round 2 - Vancouver Vs. Chicago

Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

	1	2	3	T
CHI	1	1	2	4
VAN	1	1	0	2

Final

10:30 PM ET, May 9, 2009, General Motors Place, Vancouver, BC

Bolland breaks tie as Blackhawks take 3-2 series lead over Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia --(AP/ESPN) David Bolland scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 5:05 left, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.



After Canucks forward Ryan Johnson failed on a great chance to clear the zone, and with defenseman Willie Mitchell missing his stick, Patrick Kane walked off the right boards and looked off goalie Roberto Luongo before finding Bolland open on the backdoor for a shot of the wide-open net.

Martin Havlat added an empty-net goal with 62 seconds left.

The ending was delayed as disappointed fans littered the ice with drinks and popcorn.

The Blackhawks trailed 2-1 midway through the second period, but rallied to win for the third time in the series.

Chicago can advance to the Western Conference finals at home with a Game 6 win on Monday night.

Vancouver would host Game 7 on Thursday, if necessary.

Defenseman Brian Campbell set up a pair of goals by Dustin Byfuglien, including the tying tally during a power play with 1:38 left in the second period for the Blackhawks. Chicago was less than three minutes from being down 3-1 in the series before rallying late and winning Game 4 in overtime at home.

Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Kesler also scored for Vancouver.

Nikolai Khabibulin made 19 saves for Chicago, getting a break when Kyle Wellwood hit the post midway through the third period, but also getting a blocker on Kesler s short-handed 2-on-1 chance with seven minutes left.

After Chicago won what Canucks coach Alain Vigneault called a "chess match" in Game 4 on Thursday, the teams played a faster-paced, highly physical game Saturday with plenty of big hits and scrums after the whistle.

The Canucks got top defenseman Sami Salo back after he missed two games with an undisclosed lower-body injury, but Chicago opened the scoring for the first time in the series with 4:33 left in the first period.

Big Byfuglien beat Mattias Ohlund to a rebound of Campbell's point shot through traffic and off Luongo's right pad.

The Blackhawks controlled much of the play in the opening period, pinning the Canucks in their own end for long stretches, but Kesler tied it on a lucky power-play bounce with 2:06 left. Wellwood's pass out of the corner bounced off Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook to the top of the crease, where Kesler chopped the puck and sent it trickling between Khabibulin's legs.

Sundin gave the Canucks the lead shortly after they killed a power play midway through the second. He beat Khabibulin cleanly with a slap shot from the top of the left circle off a 3-on-2 rush.

Byfuglien tied it again after Vancouver was whistled for an extra penalty during a post-whistle scrum.

Kesler, leveled seconds earlier, couldn't one-hand a loose puck past Campbell at the blue line. Campbell fed it to Byfuglien alone in the slot, where he snapped a low shot under Luongo's pads.

Luongo finished with 26 saves.

Game notes

O'Brien and Chicago D Matt Walker both received misconducts late in the second period, but it was an extra roughing penalty to O'Brien that gave the Blackhawks the penalty that led to the tying goal.

The Blackhawks haven't been to the conference finals since 1995; that year they swept the Canucks in the second round.

Holy moly! Both road teams won their games... Caps and Nucks are on the brink!

It's looking pretty good for dennycrane in the pool. He's got Chicago in 6. If they win out on home ice then the bonus points would put him in front. But he picked Anaheim, and if Detroit wins that puts me back out in front.

Go Wings! Go Nucks, if only to push it to 7 and take away the bonus points.

Game 7's all around! HA HA!

shabbs wrote:Game 7's all around! HA HA!

Shabbs, good buddy...that assumes the Nucks can get their $hit 2geh-thah.

Sedins scored when, last time?

Sundin has...how many goals in the postseason?

If it weren't for Bobby Lu, Nucks wouldn't even be here.

They'll Be Rockin' The UC on Monday, babe.

Hopin' dem Hawks kin take care o' bidness.

Who knows what kind of garbage the sore losers in Nuckworld would be throwing in Game Seven.

Don't want to go there.

davetherave wrote:Sedins scored when, last time?

Sundin has...how many goals in the postseason?

All the more reason to be worried... they're on the verge of exploding...

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:Sedins scored when, last time?

Sundin has...how many goals in the postseason?

All the more reason to be worried... they're on the verge of exploding...

Exploding or imploding?



PS don't get me wrong...IMHO if the Nucks don't re-sign the Sedins they would be insane. These two have SICK skill levels.

There's a couple of guys by the name of Pahlsson and Bolland who've been watching them closely though...

Everybody talks about the Hawks' offense...they forget about the ability of the Hawks' team defense.

Nucks had just 5 shots in the 3rd period last night...just 5 in the 2nd. Just 21 overall.

Just 15 shots in Game Four.

Gotta tell ya though...getting the fourth win of a series is mos' def the toughest.

Should be fun tomorrow night.

Hey, and Happy Mothers Day to your Mom and your wife.



Keep those beers on ice, bro.

The beer fridge is ALWAYS fully stocked and ready to go.

Always.

The view from Vancouver this morning, by The Victoria Times Colonist's Ben Kuzma:

Blackhawks rally for win over Canucks
CHICAGO 4, VANCOUVER 2

Sunday, May 10, 2009

(Hawks lead series 3-2)

VANCOUVER -- They talked the talk long before the first puck was dropped.

The Vancouver Canucks were convinced that this time is was going to be different. They were going to shoot first and think later. They were going to hit the Chicago Blackhawks so hard and for so long that they would limp back to the Windy City with their backs against the wall in their NHL Western Conference semifinal series.

Funny thing about talk. It's cheap.

The screaming headline was a 4-2 victory by the Blackhawks that has given them a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 tomorrow in Chicago. A bigger headline will be how will the Canucks respond now?

"We're going to come out Monday and play the hardest game we've played all year and bring us back here [for Game 7]," said Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. "I know a lot of people are going to write us off, but we believe we can win.

The telling blow came after two Canucks blew two clearing chances in the third period.

With defenceman Kevin Bieksa serving a controversial high-sticking minor, both defenceman Sami Salo and forward Ryan Johnson had chances to clear the puck out of the zone on the ensuing power play.

They couldn't and Blackhawks star Patrick Kane found centre Dave Bolland with a cross-ice pass that he deposited past a sprawling Luongo at 14:55.



Blackhawks forward Martin Havlat then scored into an empty net with 1:02 remaining in regulation time to leave the Canucks with that empty, sinking feeling.

"Whether penalty calls are right or wrong, we can't put ourselves in those situations," said Johnson, who seemed out of penalty-killing gas on the winning goal.

"We were dead tired and were stuck out there and I had my back to the play and me and Sami were just trying to get it out."

The Canucks had a chance to snap a 2-2 draw in the third period when Canucks centre Kyle Wellwood took a pass from Steve Bernier and put the offering off the left post behind Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

Not to be outdone, Kane nearly did the same when he went wide on a sprawling Luongo, who got his stick on the effort.

Meanwhile, it was Dustin Byfuglien's second goal late in the second period that proved vital.

Byfuglien opened scoring in the first period after the Canucks seemed so tentative that they refused to press to the attack and played too safe.

When Chicago defenceman Brian Campbell unleashed a slapper off the right pad of Luongo, the rebound popped into the slot where Byfuglien fought off Canucks defenceman Mattias Ohlund and whacked it home at 15:27.

The Canucks finally responded on a power play. Ryan Kesler tried to corral the puck and backhand it across the crease, but it bounced and somehow got past Khabibulin at 17:54.

After Luongo made a series of stellar saves early in the second period, it was a blast from the past that caught everybody by surprise.

When Sundin took a lead pass from Canucks forward Henrik Sedin, sped down the left side and unleashed a heavy slapshot that cleanly beat Khabibulin at 11:16 to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead, the roof just about came off GM Place.

After all, Sundin had gone 17 games without a goal. The effort seemed to energize the Canucks.

"I don't know what to say," said Sundin. "I thought we worked hard."

Not hard enough. That has to change tomorrow.

Big Buff was huge last night putting in the first two goals to keep them in the race with the canucks now the hawks have to show their killer instinct and not let vancouver get the win to push it to game 7

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:Big Buff was huge last night putting in the first two goals to keep them in the race with the canucks now the hawks have to show their killer instinct and not let vancouver get the win to push it to game 7

Well said. The Blackhawks had the Flames on the ropes and didn't put them away when they had the chance. That extended the series unnecessarily and just contributed to the wear and tear on the players.

The Nucks are down. The Hawks have to nail this one shut.

if vancouver gets to game seven it gives them too much hope and confidence and with the nuck team it may end up their downfall the flames didnt have it the nucks are a much better team if they get a step it may be too big for the hawks to stop

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:if vancouver gets to game seven it gives them too much hope and confidence and with the nuck team it may end up their downfall the flames didnt have it the nucks are a much better team if they get a step it may be too big for the hawks to stop

Very well said.

It's not that the Hawks couldn't win a Game Seven in VanCity--they've already beaten the Nucks twice there in this series...but why put themselves in that position if they can get it done tomorrow night?

Vancouver at Chicago

GAME SIX, STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS WEST SEMI FINAL
BLACKHAWKS LEAD SERIES 3-2

9:00 PM ET, May 11, 2009
United Center, Chicago, Illinois

CBC/RDS/Versus

Canucks-Blackhawks Preview

MORE AT ESPN.COM: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/preview?gameId=290511004

CHICAGO (AP) -- Patrick Kane bled from the mouth, and his teammates took some hits, too. For all the bumps, though, the Chicago Blackhawks left the Vancouver Canucks just about beaten.

With a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals, the Blackhawks will try to end the series Monday night at home.

"We're pumped and we've got to take advantage of it and not sit on anything," captain Jonathan Toews said Saturday, after Chicago's 4-2 victory in a bruising Game 5 at Vancouver. "We don't want to get satisfied at all. We've got a huge opportunity and we've got to take advantage of it."

The Blackhawks moved one win away from their first conference finals appearance since 1995 after getting a pair of goals from Dustin Byfuglien and making the Canucks pay for several foolish penalties.

The worst was this: Tied at 2 with 6:44 remaining, Kevin Bieksa got called for high-sticking Patrick Sharp. Chicago made the most of it, and Kane produced a beautiful assist on Dave Bolland's go-ahead goal.

Kane made a neat fake around Mason Raymond and threaded a saucer pass from the right circle through the defense to Bolland in the left circle. Bolland gathered the puck and knocked it past the stick of diving goalie Roberto Luongo to make it 3-2.

That put the Blackhawks in position to close out a tense series.

"It's going to be real tough, they're not going to let down, they're going to battle right to the end and so are we, and we're going to have to come out with our 'A' game and get off to a good start," Byfuglien said.

The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead for the first time in this series. They stood their ground after they fell behind and absorbed the hard hits while dishing out a few, themselves.

"There's no doubt about that and there's no doubt in my mind that we can play better," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "There's a lot of room for improvement in our case."

They could start by cutting back on the penalties.

After the call against Bieksa, Ryan Kesler was whistled for hooking defenseman Brian Campbell -- who appeared to take a dive -- at 16:07 of the third and hurt the Canucks' comeback chances.

Although Vigneault said those penalties were "deserved," he questioned Bieksa's penalty on Sunday.

"How we came up short-handed in that scrum I don't get," he said. "But at the end of the day you have to deal with bad calls, deal with good calls and find ways to put your best game on the ice. Obviously, so far, they have been the better team."

It would help if the Canucks put more pressure on Nikolai Khabibulin, considering they registered just 21 shots -- 10 after the first two periods. Then again, that was six more than they managed in Game 4, when the Blackhawks won 2-1 in OT. Vancouver hasn't taken more than 21 since the series opener.

"It's not good enough," Canucks forward Mats Sundin said. "Obviously we've got to generate more offense."

They never could slow Chicago, even though they got physical.

And as the final seconds ticked away, stoic Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville nearly let out a smile, the corner of his lip turning up slightly.

A win on Monday might even draw a full grin.

"I thought we did good things all night long," he said.

They didn't flinch when Sundin fired a shot past Khabibulin's stick at 11:16 of the second, giving the Canucks a 2-1 lead, or when things turned nasty.

Chicago's Andrew Ladd bowled over Rick Rypien in front of the Canucks net and got rammed into the crossbar, resulting in a penalty for Ladd. Rypien leveled Kane later in the period, leaving him with a bloody mouth, and Kane came up bleeding again early in the third when he took a stick from Taylor Pyatt while double-teamed along the boards.

Neither blow resulted in a penalty for Vancouver.

But a skirmish late in the second led to an extra roughing penalty against Shane O'Brien. That led to Byfuglien's tying goal.

These teams are tired of each other, and the Blackhawks would love nothing more than to put away the Canucks.

"It's not easy to take control of a series like this and we feel we are in a great situation," Toews said. "It's just up to us not to be satisfied for one second."

Do or die for the Canucks.

I see a win by the Canucks tonight pushing it to a Game 7.

shabbs wrote:Do or die for the Canucks.

I see a win by the Canucks tonight pushing it to a Game 7.

Did you just copy/paste your own post from the Caps/Pens thread?

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:Do or die for the Canucks.

I see a win by the Canucks tonight pushing it to a Game 7.

Did you just copy/paste your own post from the Caps/Pens thread?

Yes.

First that, now a one-word answer. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were chasing someone