VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Chicago Blackhawks did something for the first time in these Western Conference semifinals, they scored in the first period and they scored first. They carried the momentum from the last game and their persistence paid off as the ‘Hawks took Game 5 with a 4-2 victory. Chicago now has a chance to win the series as they return home for the sixth game of this series.
Dustin Byfuglien is usually the player who has the presence in around the net as the play develops in front. But tonight it was the others around him that made the difference as he scored two goals for his first goals of the series.
Chicago’s first tally came late in the period at 15:27 when defenseman Brian Campbell fired a bullet towards the net through traffic. The rebound went to the opposite side and Byfuglien shot the puck in on the empty side. Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo tried to dive back to make the save but was too far away.
Vancouver struck back on the power play on a ping-pong shot. Kyle Wellwood, who was to the right of ‘Hawks netminder Nikolai Khabibulin, pushed the puck in towards the net. The puck rebounded off Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook and it went to Ryan Kesler who backhanded the deflection in with 2:06 left in the first. The first was pretty even for both teams as the shots were 11-10 in favor of the Canucks.
Halfway through the second, the Canucks took the lead. Right after a ‘Hawks power play, the puck was turned over and Henrik Sedin raced down the near lane. Sedin passed the biscuit across the ice in the neutral zone to Mats Sundin who fired a slap shot into the net from the top of the circle.
After this goal the game became very physical and chippy which eventually gave the ‘Hawks a power play opportunity. The penalties result went in favor of Chicago as the ‘Hawks pressure did it to the Canucks again. Vancouver couldn’t clear their zone as Brian Campbell retrieved the puck at the point just within the blueline and held the zone. Campbell tapped it to Byfuglien who took it to the net with traffic and using a screen Byfuglien tied the score a two at 18:22. Chicago dominated on shots with an 11-5 advantage.
All season long, center Dave Bolland has been an integral part of the Blackhawks as they usually win when he is on the ice and contributes to the offense. Bolland, overlooked by many when they talk about the Blackhawks came through again.
Vancouver’s Kevin Bieska was called for a high-sticking penalty that gave Chicago a man advantage. Patrick Kane skated to the near dot and saw a lot of traffic in front of Luongo. The Canucks converged towards the net with a lone ‘Hawk in the mix. Kane saw a small opening where Bolland was waiting on the other side of the net. Kane dished the puck over and Bolland scored yet another game winner at 13:06.
Martin Havlat closed the scoring on the empty-netter with a little over a minute left in the game.
Chicago fired a total of 30 goals on net where Luongo made 26 saves on 29 shots, while Khabibulin was pretty spectacular going 19 of 21 for the win.
Commentary
The ‘Hawks adjusted well tonight and the Canucks couldn’t box out their opponent as they have done for most of the series. Vancouver played the puck and not the man and it cost them. By doing so Vancouver allowed Chicago plenty of space and room to have a presence in front of the net and take a shot on a screened Luongo to give them a high scoring percentage. The momentum has certainly shifted strongly to the Blackhawks as they take the series home.
Contact the author at matt.chin@prohockeynews.com
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