For the Canucks, this series against the Hawks was supposed to be different.
For the first time ever, the team won the Presidents’ Trophy by finishing first overall in the league with a 54-19-9 record for 117 points. Forward Daniel Sedin is the front runner on the MVP ballot and this season the Canucks were the first team since the 1977-78 Canadians to lead the league in goals for and against while winning the Presidents’ Trophy.
Finally, it seemed like all of the pieces were coming together, especially with the strong play of goalie Roberto Luongo—who seemed determined to no longer be the Hawks’ prey.
On the other side, the 8th-seeded Blackhawks backed into this series and got outplayed in the first three games. It seemed that the days were numbered for the champs from the Windy City as the Canucks’ suffocating defense only gave up 5 goals in the first three games of the series—that is until the Hawks exploded for 7 goals in Game 4 and 5 goals in Game 5.
It was after this 12 goal defensive meltdown by the Canucks that doubts began to arise. The main target of the media’s interest was none other than Vancouver’s former captain Luongo—who has already been the most tormented player in the recent Hawks Canucks rivalry, being reduced to tears during a post-game interview in 2009.
The mind games were beginning to start and in a surprising—and possibly even desperate attempt to swing the some momentum back to Vancouver—head coach Alain Vigneault benched Luongo, the NHL’s highest paid goalie (2010-2011 salary: $10 million) in favor of Cory Schneider (2010-2011 salary of $900,000).
The move looked to be working until Schneider hurt himself during a penalty shot and Luongo was thrust back onto the ice. After taking the game to overtime, the Hawks found yet another way to defeat the Canucks with a 3-2 OT win.
Fast forward to tonight, as both teams will clash for 60 minutes, rattling the boards to the roars of the rowdy Vancouver crowd, the game’s most important battle will be played out between the ears of the goalie wearing the Blue number 1 jersey.
Although Luongo has played in big games before—winning the gold medal for team Canada in the Vancouver Olympics—the state of the goaltender’s confidence maybe as low as the temperature on a thermometer on a cold January Vancouver night.
With so much at stake, any self-doubt can be the difference between making the split-second to challenge a streaking forward and watching the lights going off behind you as you scoop the puck out of the back of the net.
For Luongo and the Canucks, Game 7 of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals will be monumental.
Down the line, this game may be viewed as a make-or-break game for Luongo’s career and the Canuck organization—and Luongo knows it. He can feel the pressure from the Canadian hockey fans, who are starving for one of their teams to live up to the expectations—those same fans that questioned whether he could win gold medal for team Canada in last year’s winter Olympics.
More importantly, Luongo can feel it from the organization. NHL goalies that get paid an extraordinary amount of money to flop in the playoffs year-after-year get coaches fired and crumble the foundation of what the franchise hopes to build upon—and is sure-fire way to cause knee-jerk trade rumors.
On the other hand, a victory for the Canucks would only clinch a brutal opening round series that they were heavily favored in, but a huge win over the hated-Blackhawks could be final hump that the Canucks needed to conquer. Throughout sports history, we have seen teams struggle to conquer that final barrier (Ex: Late 80s/Early 90s Bulls-Pistons before Jordan and the bulls began winning their championships and 2000s Colts-Patriots when Peyton Manning was still the best quarterback to ever live and never win a Super Bowl), so will this be the Canucks time?
Whether the Hawks complete the comeback and hit the three-year trifecta against the Canucks or Luongo finally wins a big playoff game, the Blackhawks-Canucks rivalry has been progressing into the NHL’s best yearly spring drama.
As the final horn sounds Tuesday night, Roberto Luongo maybe take one step forward to becoming the show’s hero or one last tumble into Vancouver’s yearly goat.
Predictions
It is going to be an incredibly, electric atmosphere in Vancouver on Tuesday night and I expect both teams to come out flying. The Canucks have been getting out to early leads and will certainly look to continue that trend to hopefully take some of the pressure of off Roberto Luongo.
The key will be how the Hawks respond to that initial blow of the Canucks. As we saw in Game 6, the Hawks have the ability to hang in with the Canucks punch-after-punch, the key in Game 7 will be matching Vancouver’s level of intensity in the opening period and sustaining it throughout the entire game.
If Dave Bolland continues to be a physically-disruptive force that flies around the ice hitting people, gets to loose pucks and puts himself in the right position to make plays, he can pose one of the biggest threats to Luongo and the Canucks defense.
As the Hawks big 3 of Kane, Toews and Hossa have not been struggling to produce all series, Bolland can alleviate some of the pressure and attention that has taken them out of the series and create game-changing chances.
For the Canucks, the game is as much mental as it will be physical. If they come into this game hoping not to lose, the Hawks will be the fourth NHL team ever to come back from a 3-0 playoff deficit.
After earning the Presidents’ Trophy and top-overall seed, I think the Canucks will feel the pressure of expectations, but will be able to recover and play their game.
Watch for Ryan Kessler, who was a thorn in the side of the Hawks in last year’s series, to become more of a factor in Game 7. Like Kane and Toews, Kessler has yet to score a goal in this year’s series. If the Hawks repeat some of the turnovers that led to goals in Game 6, Kessler can light up the lamp on Crawford.
Overall, I think this game will come down to who wants it more. If the Canucks are ready to take the next step and finally beat the team that has haunted their off-season workouts for the past two years then they will give the Hawks all—if not more than they can handle. With the Sedin Twins, a suffocating defense and a focused goalie, the Canucks could return to their early series success.
But in the end, I believe the momentum that the Blackhawks have and the mounting expectations on the Canucks will allow the Hawks to play looser than their foes. In a situation where the Hawks’ backs were up against the walls, the team came out swinging in the last three games and has surprised many by playing with a heart and desire that has resembled last year’s Stanley Cup run.
Although the teams for the Hawks and Canucks have changed throughout the last three years of playoff series, the Hawks’ core players of Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Keith, and Campbell has been and will continue to be what sets the Hawks apart from the Canucks. Big players make big plays in big games.
Hawks win – 4-2.
