2011 WQF Game 2: Canucks 4 Blackhawks 3

There was so much talk of the ghosts of game 2’s past in Vancouver today. I mean, the Canucks have, after all, lost the last two game 2’s in the last two series against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Not tonight though. Tonight, they exorcized those ghosts with a close 4-3 win.

There are a lot of things to like about this team. But if game 1 was about answering the questions about their physical play, game 2 was about responding to adversity.

For the first time in this series, Chicago showed some life. They battled hard and refused to give up, even when the Canucks kept building two-goal leads. Where the Canucks would’ve been deflated – even intimidated – in the last couple of years, they pushed back and never once allowed the Blackhawks to tie the game.

The Hero

Daniel Sedin. Two goals, including the eventual game-winner. After the Hawks cut the Canucks’ lead to one early in the third period, Danny restored some order with a beauty of a dangle and heck of a goal.

Believe it or not, there were some who criticized the Sedins for not recording a single point in game 1. Tonight, Daniel and Henrik combined for 5 points.

The Goat

Patrick Sharp. He took a stupid, selfish penalty near the end of the first period. The Canucks started the second period on a powerplay and scored to give themselves their first two-goal lead of the night. It was all uphill for Chicago from that point on.

The Numbers

• 10:22. Cody Hodgson’s ice-time. Only the second time in ten appearances he’s reached double-digits in ice-time. He had his good moments on the ice, including some good work along the boards on Edler’s goal, which resulted in his first career playoff point. With Raffi Torres finishing his suspension, the Canucks will have some interesting roster decisions to make before game 3.
• 2. Jannik Hansen has 2 goals in the first two games of the postseason to go with his bulldog-like approach to every shift.
• 144:35. After shutting out the Minnesota Wild in his last regular season appearance and the Blackhawks in the first 4 1/2+ periods of this series, Roberto Luongo’s shutout streak ended at just over seven periods of hockey on Ben Smith’s first career playoff goal.

The Next Time

Canucks fans were raucous in the first two games of this series. The series now shifts to the Madhouse at Madison for the next couple of games. Can the Canucks silence the Hawks fans (and Chelsea Dagger)?