Man, a three goal lead doesn't carry the same weight it use to, huh?
The Canucks managed to win Game One, despite blowing a 3-0 lead in a total of eight minutes and 36 seconds in the third period.
Sami Salo was able to prevent Chicago from pulling off the comeback in its entirety, converting on a rebound after a 3-on-1 odd man rush with only 73 ticks left in regulation.
Patrick Kane led the charge in Chicago's third period attack, notching Chicago's first two strikes. Dave Bolland then knotted the contest at three, finishing after a Duncan Keith point shot.
If I'm a Vancouver fan, there's a lot I'm happy about, despite blowing a 3-0 lead. The Sedins continued to compete and create scoring chances, Roberto Luongo had another solid outing, and most importantly, they got contributions from some less likely sources.
The biggest of these contributions came from Kyle Wellwood. The much maligned center continued to win faceoffs, drew ten minutes in penalties, and also registered two assists.
Is he undersized? Yes. Is he slow? Yes. Out of shape? Definitely.
But I also think this has been a little overblown. Wellwood will always win faceoffs, and is very capable of being a point producer on the power-play...despite his physical attributes (or lack there of).
For the Hawks to reach a better fate next time around, they will need to first and foremost stay out of the box. They gave Vancouver seven power-plays - a big no no. They will also need to construct some traffic in front of Luongo for 60 minutes, just like they did in the third period of Game One. It's no coincidence that all three of Chicago's goals came off of rebounds.
Jonathon Toews, who recently missed a team practice, will need to have a bigger impact from this point out. He is playing hurt, though, so we'll cut the youngster some slack...
In tonight's action, the Ducks will pay a visit to Mo-town, while the Bruins host Eric Staal's Hurricanes. Expect a very physical game in Detroit and a closely contested effort in Beantown.
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