Hawks Take Out Canucks in 6 (Again)
The green men were not enough to intimidate the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The Blackhawks are headed back to the Western Conference Finals after whooping the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 at General Motors Place in Vancouver. A clean-shaved Roberto Luongo helped carry the ‘Nucks in Game 5, but he couldn’t come up with an answer against Chicago’s incredibly deep, talented and fresh offensive units. Luongo is not the sole person to blame for Vancouver’s inability to advance past the semifinals. The defense for the Canucks was mediocre at times, but just sloppy for most of the game. What appeared to be a promising first period for Vancouver quickly turned into a nightmare, as Chicago came out of the intermission firing on Luongo and scoring two early goals. Troy Brouwer’s goal at 2:00 in the second followed by one from Kris Versteeg 36 seconds later quickly shifted momentum for the Hawks. Vancouver managed to hang around and gain some momentum late in the period, thanks to a power play with a slashing call on Duncan Keith. Pavol Demitra, while running the point for the Vancouver power play, ended up creating an opportunity for Chicago that ultimately ended the season for Vancouver. With an ugly pass attempt to Kyle Wellwood, Demitra slapped the puck right into the grasp of Chicago center Dave Bolland, who then charged down the ice and slapped one past an obviously shaken Luongo. Maybe thoughts of 2009 were running through his mind.
Chicago knocked out Vancouver in six games in the 2009 postseason, so the ‘Nucks and Hawks are familiar with what they need to do moving forward. Vancouver is left to wonder what went wrong after a convincing win in Chicago in Game 1, and Chicago is headed to San Jose to avenge their exit from the Western Conference Finals a year ago. The Canucks’ players that showed up huge in the opening round against Los Angeles failed to do so against Chicago. Mikael Samuelsson had one goal in the six games against Chicago, after scoring seven goals in six games against L.A. Ryan Kesler also failed to step up when Vancouver needed him, scoring only four points in this series, after scoring six in the opening round. Chicago ’s Jonathan Toews is now the overall points leader in the postseason with 20, beating out Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby by one. The young captain of the Blackhawks had an impressive 12 points against Vancouver, including a hat trick in Game 4, and he’ll be counted on to continue his dominance as the Hawks head to San Jose. Patrick Kane ended the series with eight points, and 15 overall. What originally began as an exciting rematch between two top-notch teams ended up becoming the same story in a different year. Chicago wins the series 4-2.
By: Noah Glick > Find all of the NHL news & articles online from Pro Hockey Fans. |
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