VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver’s game four against the Chicago Blackhawks saw a somber crowd exit GM Place after the visiting team beat the Canucks 7-4. The Blackhawks will head home for game five with the 3-1 lead.
It tripped them up ruthlessly in the first round against Los Angeles, and now Vancouver’s poor penalty kill is compromising their chances of avoiding history repeating itself to see them eliminated in the second round by Chicago in this year’s repeat match-up of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.
An ominous beginning saw Chicago’s Brent Seabrook from nearby Tsawwassen, BC score at just 18 seconds into the first, thus sending Roberto Luongo into a funk he would fail to shake for the rest of the game. Kyle Wellwood, with new third line mates Mikael Samuelsson and Michael Grabner as Alain Vigneault sought to mix things up, brought the home crowd some hope as he deflected the puck into the net just over a minute later.
The first period continued with offensive action and respective power play goals from Chicago captain Jonathon Toews and Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin. However, things turned sour for Vancouver in the second period when Chicago amassed three consecutive power play goals, two by Toews and one by Patrick Sharp. A late goal in the second by Alexander Edler wouldn’t be enough to keep the Canucks in the game.
Chicago’s Tomas Kopecky opened the scoring in the third, and despite an opportune tip-in by Henrik Sedin, Dave Bolland’s wrist shot on an empty net sealed the deal for the Blackhawks.
So what went wrong for the Canucks? The nightmarish fall back into the ineffective penalty kill as seen in the Los Angeles series hurt Vancouver, as did Luongo’s failure to step up to the task instigated by Vancouver’s foolish penalties. Another game passed without the top line Sedins procuring much offense, and despite one goal from each of the twins, they both finished the game -1.
Chicago, on the other hand, had a stellar night with effective special teams and all the right bounces. Particularly effective were Toews and Sharp, Sharp with four points and Toews with the hat trick along with two assists. Niemi wasn’t tested much, coming up with less saves than Luongo, but he was decent when it mattered. Vancouver’s enemy from game three, Dustin Byfuglien, maintained his intimidating stature, and despite obtaining just one assist kept the Vancouver defensemen and their captain Luongo effectively riled up.
Vancouver saw a few decent performances in a spirited Kyle Wellwood and, stats aside, an energetic Mason Raymond and Michael Graber, but without serious contributions from the expected goal scorers Samuelsson, Kesler, Burrows, and the Sedins, the third liners couldn’t carry the game alone.
Despite two assists, Chicago saw a quieter night from Patrick Kane, but the well-rounded efforts by Toews, Sharp, Seabrook, Kopecky and Hossa combined for an easily dominant Blackhawks win.
It’s difficult to tell whether Alain Vigneault’s line changes were detrimental to the Canucks, but one thing is certain; the Canucks have three consecutive games to win against this hot Chicago team if they hope to make it to the third round. Pavol Demitra was benched for the night, and if past punishments are any indication, he will be a strong force for the Canucks if unleashed again for game five.
The Blackhawks have the opportunity to seal the deal Sunday evening on home ice, and all eyes are on Luongo to see if he can come up with the kind of high pressure win he managed during this year’s Olympics.
Contact the writer at Gabrielle.pope@prohockeynews.com
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