The Ticket Chest

Blackhawks Answer Call with “Easy” 5-1 Win Over Canucks; Headed for 2nd Straight Conference Finals

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, NHL, San Jose Sharks, Sports, Vancouver Canucks | No Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks eliminated the Vancouver Canucks for the 2nd straight NHL post-season with a convincing 5-1 win at GM Place on Tuesday night.  The Hawks won the series 4 games to 2 and will now advance to the Western Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row.  The Blackhawks lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 5 games in last year’s Conference Finals and will look to advance to the Stanley Cup for the 1st time since 1971 with a series win over the San Jose Sharks this month.

After a scoreless 1st period that saw a total of 25 shots on goal, it looked like it would be a defensive battle all night long.  But Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg scored goals just 36 seconds apart 2 minutes into the 2nd period and the Hawks had a quick 2-0 lead.  Dave Bolland’s short-handed goal with 45 seconds left in the 2nd period gave the Hawks a commanding 3-goal lead heading into the final period.  The Hawks held the Canucks to just 6 shots on goal in that decisive 2nd period and by the end of the game’s 1st 40 minutes, goalie Antti Niemi had saved all of the Canucks’ 19 shots on goal.

You gotta give the Canucks some credit though.  They came out firing on all cylinders in the 3rd period and even scored a goal just over 3 minutes into the period to cut the lead to 3-1.  But less than 5 minutes later, Patrick Kane put the dagger in the Canucks’ proverbial backs with a brilliant goal that gave the Hakws a 4-1 lead.  When Dustin Byfuglien drove home his 4th goal of the series just 25 seconds later, the celebration for the Hawks was on.

Niemi stopped 29 of 30 shots on goal and won his 2nd straight post-season series.  He has proved all the critics wrong with his stellar goal-tending throughout the entire post-season.  Sure, he has had an “off” game or 2 in each of the 1st 2 series, but it doesn’t get him down and he seems to be able to re-group and be focused for the next contest.

The other crazy thing to take from the Hawks is their better play on the road than at home.  The Hawks won all 3 games on the road in the Vancouver series in convincing fashion – 5-2; 7-4; and 5-1.  The Hawks also won 2 of the 3 games played on the road in the opening round series win over the Nashville Predators.  That leaves them with a 5-1 road record this post-season, with a disappointing 3-2 home record at the United Center.  It is shocking to see the Hawks struggle at home this post-season since they won 29 games at home during the regular season.  They did have a winning record on the road as well – 23-14-4 – but I’m surprised to see how tense they are playing in front of the home town fans.

It was a good thing that the Hawks packed their bags for an extended trip on the west coast.  The Hawks head to San Jose today to get ready for the Conference Finals series which will likely begin sometime this weekend.  The Hawks took 3 of the 4 games from the Sharks in the regular season series, so they do have the confidence to take out the West’s #1 seed (by 1-point) in a 7-game series.  After falling behind the Colorado Avalanche 2 games to 1 in the opening round of the playoffs, the Sharks have been on a roll – winning 7 of their last 8 games.  They won the final 3 games of the Avalanche series and took out the defending Western Conference Champion Red Wings in just 5 easy games, so it is going to be a dog fight.  I can’t wait!

Tags: Antti Niemi, Dave Bolland, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp