Vancouver Shuts out the Blackhawks 2-0 in Playoff Opener
April 14, 2011 | Sports
The Canucks are just three wins away from removing their biggest rival in the playoffs, and the team that has taken them out of the run for the Stanley Cup the last two years in a row.
Vancouver played the physical part of the game by out hitting them 47 to 21. It’s a wise strategy that isn’t new to this match up and the right move since Chicago faced an exhausting run to make the playoffs and tend to rely most on their best players that can be removed with a few hard hits.
The real hero in the match last night was Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo who managed to stop all 32 of the Blackhawks shots last night. Luongo got some help from the goal post three times, but also made some incredible saves using his toe to stop a Brian Campbell shot with 1:30 left in the first period.
The Canucks came in as the top seed in the Western Conference and winner of the Presidents Trophy. They exploded in the first period jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the opening playoff game and shutting last years Stanley Cup winners out. Don’t count out the No. 8 seed from Chicago, they are no average team. Corey Crawford kept them in the game with 31 saves in his first playoff start, Jonathan Toews was inches away from scoring two goals hitting the post twice in the second period.
Game two will be on Friday in Vancouver and promises to be a huge game, Chicago had won five straight games in Vancouver but lost the opening game of its previous two series before rallying to knock out the Canucks. The Blackhawks might just use the first game to size up the Cancucks before learning the requirements to once again remove Vancouver from the Stanley Cup hunt.
This article was written by: Steve Kramer
