Hawks advance to Western Conference finals - 3 goals in 2nd give Hawks lift they need to dump Canucks 5-1

Hawks advance to Western Conference finals - 3 goals in 2nd give Hawks lift they need to dump Canucks 5-1
By Chris Kuc
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
12:21 a.m. CDT, May 12, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/ct-spt-0512-blackhawks-canucks-chicag20100511,0,6339399.story


VANCOUVER, British Columbia — So long, Canucks; hello, Sharks.

On the strength of their third consecutive victory on enemy ice Tuesday night, the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference finals for the second season in a row as they defeated the Canucks 5-1 to close out the best-of-seven semifinal series 4-2.

The Game 6 triumph sets up a matchup of the top two teams in the conference with the winner going to the Stanley Cup finals.

Getting past the Canucks wasn't easy, but the Hawks dispatched them in six games for the second consecutive season as Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Dave Bolland, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien scored while Antti Niemi got the better of fellow goaltender Roberto Luongo to earn the victory.

"It was a tough series right from the puck drop of Game 1," said Hawks forward Patrick Sharp, who assisted on the key first goal. "I know people were frustrated we didn't close it out in Game 5 (on Sunday night), but they're a tough team and they make it hard to play. We'll take the series win however we can get it.

"We didn't give up a whole lot defensively (Tuesday). We didn't have any passengers at all; everybody contributed right from the top to the bottom."

After a scoreless first period in which the goalies were stingy, the Hawks finally solved Luongo two minutes into the second when Brouwer — a healthy scratch the previous three games who was inserted into the lineup in place of Tomas Kopecky — stormed the slot and redirected a pass from Sharp into the net.

Versteeg made it 2-0 just 36 seconds later after Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa over-skated the puck and Versteeg scooped it up, moved in on Luongo and beat him with a wrist shot to the stick side.

Bolland put a dagger into the Canucks with a short-handed, breakaway goal in the final minute of the second to make it 3-0. With Duncan Keith in the box for slashing, Bolland stripped Pavol Demitra of the puck at the Hawks' blue line, and it was off to the races. Bolland finished off by slipping the puck past Luongo.

A Shane O'Brien goal early in the third gave the Canucks life, but Kane and Byfuglien beat Luongo 25 seconds apart midway through the third after being sprung into open ice.

"They're a good team," Versteeg said. "It was a battle until the end. We got some key goals at some key times, and that's what we fed off.

"That's the way we need to play. We were happy with our start, we were happy keeping it 0-0 in that first period and then picking up and really burying our chances in the second."

The Hawks advanced to the conference finals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1989-90, and they will face the Sharks for the first time ever in the postseason.

"Maybe it was tough to motivate ourselves to get that fourth win," captain Jonathan Toews said. "We wanted it a little bit easier than it was going to be in Game 5 (a 4-1 loss), but we still got better and I would say (Tuesday night) was our best game. We saw a trend and we slowly got good enough to win the series as it went along."

The Canucks got a lift even before the puck dropped with the presence on the ice of defenseman Sami Salo. The veteran left Game5 after a puck hit him in the groin and he was taken to a Chicago hospital. But his presence didn't prove enough as the Hawks sent the Canucks home for the second consecutive season.

"It just goes to show you exactly what we're playing for here and how important it is to guys," O'Brien said. "You don't get a whole lot of chances to play on good teams and have a chance to take a run at the Stanley Cup."

ckuc@tribune.com