Well they didn’t make it easy on themselves or their fans, but the Blackhawks scrapped their way to a thrilling 4-2 victory on Monday night to even their series with the Canucks at home. Kris Versteeg scored the game winner with less than 2 minutes left to play, and Chicago scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to save themselves from falling in a dangerous 2-0 hole heading back into Vancouver.
A noticeable difference in Chicago’s play was a significant increase in the amount of traffic they put in front of Roberto Luongo. The Hawks crashed the crease early and often, and the results paid off down the stretch. The Canucks actually got the first two goals in this one, as Mason Raymond and Mikael Samuelsson both scored in the first five minutes to quiet the crowd at the United Center. Brent Seabrook snuck in from the point a couple minutes after Samuelsson’s goal, though, and injected a shot of life into the building with a quick snap shot off a pass from below the goal line from Dave Bolland.
After a tightly played 2nd, Chicago broke out their offense in the 3rd, starting with a key shorthanded goal from Patrick Sharp. Sharp has been great for the Hawks so far, and his hard work continued to pay off as he faked out Luongo and slipped a backhand around him for his 4th goal of the playoffs. The score stayed tied for the next 12 minutes, until Versteeg sent the home fans into a frenzy with a one timer that he launched into the back of the net after a great pass from Duncan Keith. Versteeg’s goal was actually the result of some some good hustle by the Blackhawks to get to a loose puck after he fumbled the puck away in the slot. It was Bolland again who found the biscuit and sent it back to Seabrook on the point. Seabrook found his defensive partner wide open on the blueline, and Keith’s fake shot froze Luongo and the Canucks, opening up almost half the net for Versteeg to shoot at. Patrick Kane’s empty netter in the final minute put a stamp on the victory and avoided any last-second heroics from the Canucks.
Antti Niemi was solid in the final two periods, a big reason the Blackhawks were able to pull this one out. The Chicago defense also tightened up in the 2nd and 3rd, limiting the Canucks to just 13 shots in the last 40 minutes after allowing the same number of shots in the opening frame. Vancouver struggled on the powerplay, as well, as Chicago killed off 5 of their 6 minor penalties.
