Another perspective from Chicago...from ESPN Chicago's Al Cimaglia...
Poor effort puts pressure on Hawks
The Hawks miss a great opportunity to take control
May 5, 2009, 10:12 PM/Al Cimaglia, ESPNChicago.com
The Blackhawks had a few advantages going into this game.
They were coming off an impressive road victory and would have the energy from the home crowd to feed off of. Next, the Canuck injury report should have provided an edge for the Hawks. Vancouver was without two regulars, Sami Salo and Pavol Demitra.
In the end, none of that mattered as the Canucks were by far the better team and skated away with a well deserved 3-1 victory.
The Hawks came out with energy and had some scoring chances on Roberto Luongo. Although Vancouver took over nine minutes to record two shots on goal, as the period went on, the Canucks gained a territorial edge in play. Vancouver took advantage of a turnover and poor defensive coverage to score their first tally. The Canucks wound up with a first period one-goal advantage but unfortunately, Patrick Kane provided them with an early second period power play.
Kane made an unnecessary hooking penalty in the offensive zone at 19:20 of the first frame. The penalty was deserved as Kane was guilty of a brain cramp and also was a bit lazy. The Canucks came out in the 2nd period and scored on the power play and things were looking uncomfortably familiar.
The Hawks tried to rally as usual but this time it wasn't the same.
Vancouver deserves all the credit as they played a smart, effective road game. They were able to execute much better than the Hawks and took the crowd out. They didn't have to be fancy as they managed the puck well and their defense played a strong game. The Blackhawks made enough mistakes to provide all the scoring chances the Canucks needed.
Before the game I was concerned about the young Hawk defensemen, Cam Barker and Niklas Hjalmarsson, being pressured into mistakes by the Canucks. Those two were fine. Actually, Hjalmarrson was very good.
Ironically, it was the Hawks top defensive unit of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith that had trouble. I have not had to write "Keith" and "bad" in the same sentence very often this season. On Tuesday, Mr. Keith had an off night and his partner wasn't able to bail him out.
Good play makes for good fortune as the Canucks didn't miss Demitra at all. Actually, he may have trouble getting his regular spot back because Mason Raymond had a fine game and was one of the best Canucks. The line of Raymond, Ryan Kessler and Mats Sundin were dominant throughout the night.
As far as missing Salo, the Canucks defense appeared to not skip a beat. The Hawks did not help their cause because of sloppy play and by not getting more chances on Luongo. The Canuck defenders did have a lot to do with the Hawks only getting 21 shots on goal. The Vancouver defense had 21 blocked shots so Luongo was really assisted by his mates.
The Blackhawks had all the advantages going into this contest and now they will have to deal with all the pressure on Thursday night. It was a very disappointing evening as this was the worst total effort from the Hawks in either playoff series.
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