The gloves are off for Round 2

It appears these teams don't like each other very much

By Ben Kuzma, The ProvinceApril 29, 2009

Shane O'Brien tried to remain tight-lipped when the bait was tossed to him Tuesday. He couldn't and has already put

some serious bite into the Western Conference semifinal series.

Remind the Canucks defenceman that in the last meeting with the Blackhawks -- a convincing 4-0 Vancouver

triumph at Chicago on March 29 -- that Dustin Byfuglien crosschecked Roberto Luongo in the face after failing to

beat the goalie on a third-period breakaway to spark a melee and O'Brien gets a little agitated. Remind him that he

had to chase Adam Burish after the winger took a run at Henrik Sedin and the blood starts to boil. And remind

O'Brien that the ensuing brawl had Kevin Bieksa paired with Ben Eager and Alex Burrows in a wrestling match

with Duncan Keith and he made a series pledge.

"I'll guarantee you one thing," said O'Brien. "They won't be getting to Louie as easily as they got to [Miikka]

Kiprusoff, and we'll take it from there. Actions speak louder than words."

At the risk of inciting a Game 1 riot, O'Brien said he understood the frustration when the Blackhawks were down 3-

0 and were being outplayed in every facet of the March 29 matchup. At that time, the Canucks and Blackhawks

appeared destined for a first-round playoff meeting as the fourth and fifth division seeds. Expectations were high. So

were tempers.

"I'm sure they were trying to send a message and we answered the bell," added O'Brien. "We can play all different

styles and Burish was more worried about getting at Hank than anyone else. But if he's going to send a message,

we're going to send one right back.

"There are no secrets at this time of year. Whoever wants it more is going to win."

Aside from 80 penalty minutes assessed in the fray and sideshows -- sticks, gloves, pads, jerseys and blood littering

the ice that night -- the sight of Burrows getting a grip on the locks of Keith made the highlight reels. Will there be

more of the same on Thursday?

"No, probably not," said a sheepish Burrows. "And hopefully no fish hooks and fines. It was just a line brawl and I

wanted to make sure I wasn't the one taking a beating. Once you're in a line brawl, anything goes."

Bieksa simply shrugged when asked if he was surprised at the fracas. After all, in their first-round sweep of St.

Louis, there was the potential for an all-out war as the Canucks physically dominated the Blues. Bieksa expects the

Blackhawks to be just as belligerent.

"There are probably going to be a couple of scrums in this series and I'm sure it will be entertaining for everyone,"

predicted Bieksa. "It won't be anything we haven't seen. We know they're going to the net hard. We'll try to do the

same job we did against St. Louis. We'll box guys out, take care of the rebounds and Louie will make the saves."

Maybe feisty winger Rick Rypien put it best.

"We're ready for anything they throw at us," he said. "Everyone can talk. It's the will to do something after that. You

want to get guys off their games, but it's no different than any other series -- guys are always yapping."

Darcy Hordichuk offered a final parting shot at the Blackhawks.

"We can outmuscle them," he said. " I want to force them into a bad situation where they have to drop their gloves

because I will be running a lot of their players."

Staying out of box will be the key

Going shorthanded against speedy forwards will be costly

By Tony Gallagher, The Province

Once again the clarion call goes out to the Vancouver Canucks penalty killing unit, a group they used a little too

often in the last series against St. Louis.

The Blackhawks come swaggering in having scored seven goals in their 24 man advantages against the Calgary

Flames, the same way the St. Louis Blues entered the playoffs having had one of the more successful power play

units in the league, ranked eighth on the year.

But the differences pretty much end there because the Hawks' young forwards have an added component on their

back end, the speed of Brian Campbell and Duncan Keith, a monstrous upgrade over the chopped liver the Blues

were using on the points. And that difference warrants a very specific response from the Canucks, particularly with

respect to the PK forwards like Ryan Johnson, Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond -- and to a lesser

extent, the Sedins.

"The way we're going to be most successful doing this is to not give them as many opportunities as we gave St.

Louis," said Johnson, referring to the 24 advantages (one goal surrendered) the Blues enjoyed in just four games

against Vancouver. "You look at that one [Boston] series where they were shorthanded only eight times against

Montreal compared to us in our series and that's what we should be striving for. There's only so long you can go on

the way we were. Just the 5-on-3 time, I mean, that's way too much."

So keeping their duffs out of the box is the goal but that's been pretty much a fruitless endeavour most of the season

and why such a thrust would suddenly be successful now in a series which is expected to get a tad physical is

anyone's guess. So there will be opportunities for the Hawks. What's the plan to stop them?

"Obviously we'd like to get up ice on them and any time you can do that you'd like to disrupt them as much as

possible," said Raymond, who has found a nice little home on the PK using his speed to increase Vancouver's

aggression as opposed to the statue-like approach that was happening in the first half of the season.

"Campbell and Keith are always thinking and they always like to keep speed in their own end while always looking

for the best way back into your zone," said Johnson, who is so tuned in to every conceivable nuance of penalty

killing in the NHL that you couldn't hope to capture even a small fraction of what he's picked up.

"Any time you can maybe attack from the off side of the way they're going in [to get the puck in their own zone] you

have a chance to make them stop in behind the goal and that's what you'd like to do, slow them up that much more."

Kesler picks up the discussion quickly, pointing out: "But you can't be too aggressive because if you get in too deep

they'll make that pass and trap the guy and that's what we don't want, so you've got to be really careful."

If truth be told the one thing they must stop is Chicago getting anything done on the rush because that might be the

one area where Roberto Luongo is not absolutely lights out. Get him in a situation where the power play has set up

and the puck is moving around in its traditional back-and-forth directions on any typical power play and you know

Luongo is going to be square to every shot no matter from where it comes.

Handling Patrick Kane and/or Jonathan Toews on a rush in an odd- man situation, for instance, is quite a different

matter.

"Obviously you'd be concerned about their speed," said Mattias Ohlund, who knows this opponent has that

commodity to burn, "but we don't want to lose our aggressiveness, either.

"St. Louis was bigger and maybe a little bit more physical, but these guys have more speed and skill, so they will be

a challenge for us."

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault had not yet convened a penalty kill meeting as of Tuesday afternoon but he might be

well advised to invite everyone on the roster to convey the message he and Johnson were both sending.

"We need to have our penalty killers work a little bit less," said Vigneault.

Achieving that goal while remaining aggressive ... therein may lie the key to the series.

Send us your beard pix

It's itchy, your wife hates it and, admittedly, you look downright foolish. But you wouldn't be a loyal Canucks fan

unless you kept the playoff beard going. Don't fret, we understand and want you to share your postseason growth

with us. Send us your pictures to provsports@theprovince.com.

Award nod puts Kesler among elite

By Jason Botchford, The Province

The joke making NHL rounds is that Olli Jokinen deserved a Selke Trophy nomination because no one did a better

job of shutting down Jarome Iginla and Mike Cammalleri.

Seems the defensive part of Jokinen's game has been long overlooked. Ryan Kesler has had the opposite problem.

Kesler has long been labeled a defensive specialist, and his offensive game was left for dead years ago. That's a

problem come award time. There's an irony about the Selke award. Even though the honour is supposed to go to the

best defensive forward, the quickest way to get recognized is to line your resume with some solid offensive

numbers.

That didn't seem likely for Kesler, cast as a third-line checker in the fall. In his preseason forecast it said no power

play time. That likely meant no trip to Las Vegas for June's awards show.

But in the second half of the year, Kesler shattered the mold. He became a point-a-game player with 34 points in his

final 34 games, establishing himself as one of the game's top two-way forwards. He answered the final question

about his potential. Yes, he can score.

On Tuesday, he got his recognition. Kesler, 24, was named one of three Selke finalists, joining Philadelphia's Mike

Richards and last year's winner Pavel Datsyuk.

For the offensive numbers, he can thank Mats Sundin who proved he is good for something. Sundin's arrival helped

change Kesler's fortunes, pushing him into a prominent top-six role with plenty of offensive benefits.

For the defensive prowess, Kesler can thank his dad. While most fathers were treating their kids to ice cream after

scoring goals, Mike Kesler was drilling into his son the importance of backchecking.

"He always harped defence first growing up. 'Backcheck, backcheck, backcheck,'" Kesler said with his dad's mantra

still pounding through his head a decade later. "My dad was never a goals and assists guy. He always focused on my

faceoffs, my defensive play and mostly backchecking.

"He wanted me to focus defence first ... I guess he hates seeing other guys score on me."

It could be argued Kesler was more deserving last year when he was in a shutdown role all season on the Canucks'

third line with Alex Burrows.

"Being considered the same kind of player as Datsyuk and Richards shows you how far his game has come,"

Burrows said. "Last year and at the start of this year, his main role was to make sure the other team's top line didn't

score. He did a tremendous job doing that. I'm not sure how many people were aware of the job he was doing. Then

he got a great opportunity to play with Sundin and [Pavol Demitra] this winter.

"He proved himself. Now, I could see him scoring 30 goals a year for several years. One thing, for sure, no matter

who he plays with his plus-minus will always be in the plus because he works so hard."

Kesler's belief is no player can out-will him on the ice. It''s hard to argue the point with someone who once seriously

considered cutting off his finger to play in the postseason. Don't believe he was serious? Ask his dad.

That determination is one of the things head coach Alain Vigneault picked out as to what makes Kesler so hard to

play against.

"Two things in my mind, speed is one," Vigneault said. "He can get to pucks and to people real quick. And he's a

competitive player who comes to play each night."

Kesler put up 26 goals and 59 points over the course of the year, while continuing to be the defensive glue that kept

the Canucks second line together. When he was moved to the wing in February, so Sundin could play centre, Kesler

continued to be a 200-ft forward, doggedly attacking both ends of the ice.

He did that while scoring 17 goals in his final 34 games.

"It's rare nowadays to see players that play with that kind of conviction both offensively and defensively," Sundin

said. "It's great to see he has both sides of his game down like that."

Kesler remains a longshot to win the award. Datsyuk has long been viewed as the favourite, while Richards is

considered the only player who can topple the incumbent.

Kesler finished seventh in the NHL in penalty-kill minutes (272:29). Richards logged 252:48 and Datsyuk just

129:56 while killing penalties.

Kesler was seventh in the NHL in takeaways, while Datsyuk was second and Richards finished third. Even if Kesler

doesn't win, he's in pretty good company.

"You have to be a pretty good two-way player [to be nominated]," Kesler said. "I'm proud of this because I've

always taken a lot of pride in my defensive game."

For Sedins, that was then, this is now

By Ed Willes, The Province

Henrik Sedin was asked what he remembers about the last time he met his homey Sammie Pahlsson in the playoffs.

"Nothing," he said.

And that was an interesting choice of words.

Henrik, of course, was being coy when he made the pronouncement but, "nothing" was also an accurate

representation of what he accomplished against Pahlsson two years ago.

Actually, that's not quite right. Henrik failed to produce a point in the Canucks' Western Conference semifinal

against the Anaheim Ducks. But he also went a snappy minus-six in his head-to-head matchup against Pahlsson,

then the Ducks' checking centre, and was on the ice for the Ducks' overtime winners in both Game 4 and Game 5.

So, in point of fact, Henrik was actually worse than nothing, which is relevant because, beginning tomorrow, he

figures to renew acquaintances with Pahlsson when the Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks begin their Western

Conference semifinal at GM Place.

"It's tough to beat him physically, it's tough to out-skate him and it's tough to out-smart him," Hammerin' Hank said,

summing up what makes Pahlsson such a formidable opponent.

But he's going to have to figure out a way because this matchup will be one of the battlegrounds on which this series

is won or lost.

Pahlsson, who was acquired by Chicago from the Ducks at the trade deadline for blueliner James Wisniewski, has

stepped into a familiar role with the Hawks on a line with rookie Kris Versteeg and all-namer Dustin Byfuglien

(pronounced Byfuglien). While that unit is more of an offensive-defensive hybrid than his former shutdown posting

in Anaheim with Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer, it was equally effective in the Hawks' series win over Calgary,

producing six points in Chicago's 4-1 close-out victory in Game 6.

It also figures to draw the checking assignment against the Sedins and Alex Burrows in the upcoming series, and

that's where things get interesting. Two years ago, Pahlsson, Moen and Niedermayer basically vapourized the Sedins

-- and, by extension, the Canucks' offence -- in the Ducks' five-game waltz en route to the Stanley Cup. Henrik went

oh-fer the series. Daniel had one goal and one assist. Pahlsson's line, meanwhile, scored big goals throughout the

series, raising the question of just who was checking who.

"They had that whole line and they were huge for them in the playoffs," said Henrik.

"They were keying on playing good defence. It was tough. We were forcing things to the extreme and we were dead

tired after one

period.

"But, it's two years ago now. We're looking forward."

And that's a much happier place to look.

The twins are now two years older, two years stronger and, clearly, two years better. They're also coming off their

strongest playoff performances as Canucks -- which isn't saying a lot -- and they're surrounded by more talent than

the '07 squad.

But, as much as this team is about Roberto Luongo, it still needs the Sedins to set the tone offensively and if

Pahlsson -- and, more importantly, the defensive pair of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith -- succeeds in

neutralizing the Canucks' first line, it goes a long way towards smothering their attack.

"I think they're like all our players," Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said of the Sedins' evolution. "They're

better."

To that end, Vigneault said he will send out Henrik to face Pahlsson, Jonathan Toews, Stan Mikita or whoever else

the Hawks have in mind and expect him to win the head-to-head battle. That's because Henrik is the Canucks' best

centre. He's also starting to enter the conversation regarding the best centres in the Western Conference and to be

truly invested in that club he has to step up in moments like this.

Two years ago, he failed. Two years ago, Pahlsson also brought the Stanley Cup back to Ornskoldvik, where he

lives just down the street from Daniel. There, a party raged into the night celebrating his triumph.

The Sedins did not attend. But that, they remember.

Canucks match up well vs. Hawks

Vancouver has more weapons, brawn than young Chicago

team

By Ben Kuzma, The Province

Nobody was willing to come right out and say it. Nobody was willing to provide bulletin-board material with a

guaranteed series victory. Yet, the confident tone from management, coaches and players Tuesday confirmed the

Vancouver Canucks expect to be skating for several more weeks.

After all, this is the team rookie general manager Mike Gillis built to barge its way through the postseason, a club

that combines size, skill and considerable will. And it's a club expected to give the Chicago Blackhawks all they can

handle when the Western semifinal series opens Thursday at GM Place.

"We have to match their speed and their transition game and we need to be physically dominant," said Gillis. "Those

are tall orders. But we have the ability with our speed and defence and style of game to eliminate opportunities and

that will be key for us. If we match everything they bring, we feel confident we'll be there."

"There" is code for advancing to the conference final, a concept that was hard to imagine when Gillis took the GM

reins a year ago. He said that club wasn't in a position to be competitive. Now, it's hard to argue with a bigger, faster

and stronger team that swept the St. Louis Blues in the opening round of the playoffs and dominated its last two

meetings with the Blackhawks -- a 7-3 thrashing here on Feb. 7 and a 4-0 fight-filled affair on March 29 in Chicago.

There's a reason Gillis rolled the roster dice in acquiring Pavol Demitra, Mats Sundin, Kyle Wellwood and Steve

Bernier. To get the club out of its one-line funk, the Canucks had to gamble. It worked. They finished scoring 2.96

goals per game, 11th overall in the NHL. And the club kept up its traditional defensive posture by allowing 2.60

goals against, seventh best in the league.

The sweep of the Blues confirmed that the 23-for-24 performance on the penalty kill and 4-for-18 success on the

power play have special teams in good order, even if the Canucks are the league's second-most penalized team in the

postseason at 20.2 minutes per outing.

However, with a 7-for-24 power-play performance in a six-game series win over Calgary, the Blackhawks proved

that speed kills and that youth shall be served. Still, if the Canucks can execute the same plan that bottled up the

Blues -- a heavy forecheck, heavy bodychecking, timely scoring and excellent goaltending -- then they obviously

like their chances.

"They have a lot of young skill and so do we," said winger Ryan Kesler, a Selke Trophy finalist. "We match up

pretty well and we have to play like we did against St. Louis -- basically hit everything in sight."

So, let Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith try to stop the Sedins, the Canucks have more weapons. Let the

Blackhawks try to be the Bruise Brothers, the Canucks have more brawn.

"Chicago has three lines that can score on a regular basis," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said of an offence that

struck for 21 goals in the Flames series and was fourth in the regular season at 3.17 goals per outing. "And their

defence joins the rush better than St. Louis, so we'll need four lines going and our forwards to read the rush and hit

their defence in a legal and physical way, without a doubt."

Vigneault also has no doubts about two key series aspects -- aside from the goaltending duel between Roberto

Luongo and Nikolai Khabibulin. He expects the Sedins to dominate and he expects the line of Demitra, Sundin and

Kesler to play a supportive role.

"I'm at that point with that [Sedin] line that I'll make the other team work for it," Vigneault said of line matching. "In

my mind, they can face anyone and hit the challenge. And the Sundin line has the dimension to be the difference in

games and in a series."

Not to be overlooked is the physical will the Canucks can impose. Gillis added fourth-line enforcer Darcy

Hordichuk and feisty blueliner Shane O'Brien to emphasize that point. And Vigneault couldn't wait to insert the

often-injured pit bull Rick Rypien back into the lineup. In the past, the Canucks couldn't match up punch for punch

or pound for pound. Now they can.

"We wanted to have bigger and tougher players who would go out there and force the issue and not be reactionary,"

stressed Gillis. "When teams come into this rink, we always want to take it to the opposition and create an

environment where teams don't come in here and get a free ride. We've accomplished that."

MORE ON THE WEB

"How will Roberto Luongo handle eight days without a game?" says Tony Gallagher of a key storyline going into

Thursday's Game 1 of the Canucks-Blackhawks series. "We'll see how he does in the first period." Gallagher

addresses that issue in his Tony Talk podcast at theprovince.com/whitetowel. He also has a good time musing about

Rangers head coach John Tortorella. Check it out -- then tune in this afternoon for a post-practice edition of Tony

Talk.

Mitchell is good to go against Hawks

By Jason Botchford and Ben Kuzma, The Province

For the first time since the first round of the NHL playoffs, Willie Mitchell made it through a full practice Tuesday.

Suffering from an undisclosed "lower-body" injury, the Canucks defenceman pronounced himself ready to start the

second round against the Chicago Blackhawks when the full on-ice workout was done.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Mitchell said. "It's been nice to get a few days off. We're fortunate we finished the Blues

off early. That gave myself some extra time."

DISCIPLINE DIRECTIVE

Roberto Luongo said he got butterflies in his stomach once he found out the Canucks were playing Chicago.

He said he expects to see plenty of agitator Dustin Byfuglien, who ran him when the teams last met in Chicago.

The goalie wasn't worried about that. Instead, he was focused on team discipline.

"I don't know if we can give them seven power plays a night. We're going to have to be more disciplined, for sure.

Even though we want to play with that edge, we have to stay out of the box."

OBERG JOINS MOOSE

Evan Oberg recently ran the gauntlet of medical testing and will join the Manitoba Moose today for the AHL

playoffs.

The 21-year-old was signed to a two-way deal by the Vancouver Canucks on April 10 and the University of

Minnesota-Duluth defenceman fills a depth void in the organization. The native of Camrose, Alta. had 27 points (7-

20) in 43 games this season. Prior to his two years at Minnesota-Duluth, Oberg spent two seasons with the Camrose

Kodiaks of the AJHL.

ITCHING FOR SCRAPPING

Mention the third-period melee in a 4-0 win at Chicago on March 29 and Darcy Hordichuk says only one thing was

missing -- himself.

"The only thing I didn't like is getting a chance to be out there and mix it up," said the Canucks scrapper. "When I

was in Nashville, I played them so much and I think I have some respect out there. If guys want to drop their gloves,

I'll be more than willing to step up."

QUOTABLE

"I'm not sure. I'm such a likeable guy."

-- Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault, when asked why the Blackhawks' coach was mad at him at end of the fight-

filled game in Chicago on March 29.

Hodgson picked ahead of Tavares

Named OHL's most outstanding player

By Jim Jamieson, The ProvinceApril 29, 2009

Evidence that the Canucks got a steal when they selected Cody Hodgson at 10th overall last June keeps on

mounting.

The day before leading his Brampton Battalion team into the Ontario Hockey League final against Windsor,

Hodgson was recognized as the OHL's outstanding player of the year on Tuesday.

Hodgson, 19, was up against representatives from the 19 other clubs for the Red Tilson Trophy and received 161

points in the voting as determined by the writers and broadcasters covering the league. He was in select company, as

John Tavares of the London Knights -- who's expected to be drafted No. 1 overall at this June's NHL Entry Draft --

finished second with 115 points.

"It's a huge honour, looking back at the past names who've won that -- all those guys I looked up to as a kid,"

Hodgson told The Province on Tuesday night after arriving in Windsor. "Hopefully, one day down the road I'll

represent the OHL like they have."

The Battalion will take on a Windsor team that beat Brampton twice in two meetings this season -- 5-3 in October,

before Hodgson had returned from the Canucks, and 6-3 in January.

"It's going to be tight because Windsor's got some top-end guys," said Hodgson, who's in a three-way tie with 27

points (9-18) in 16 games for the playoff scoring lead.

"I'm really excited about it. We have a great team in Brampton, a lot of character guys. When I got sent back by the

Canucks I wanted to play at the world juniors and lead this team and go as far as possible. We said all along we

wanted to go to the Memorial Cup and I think we have a great opportunity."

Hodgson may well be facing off against Eric Wellwood, the younger brother of Canucks' Kyle Wellwood. The

younger Wellwood played the last series against Tavares' line for London and scored two overtime goals in a 4-1

win.

"He's been having a great playoff," said Hodgson. "He did really well against Tavares."

It's been a dream season so far for Hodgson. Earlier, he was also named the recipient of the William Hanley Trophy

as the OHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player for the 2008-09 season.

Hodgson was dominant for Canada at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, capturing a gold

medal and leading the tournament with 16 points in six games.

Hodgson finished fourth in OHL scoring with a career-high 43 goals and 49 assists for 92 points in 53 games.

Canucks fans gearing up for Blackhawks

series

By John Colebourn, The ProvinceApril 29, 2009

The wait is over. Let the hype begin.

Canucks fans are preparing for the next round in their heroes' march toward the Stanley Cup as they take on the

Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow.

The Canucks open the series at home and play again in Vancouver on Saturday. They then move to Chicago to

continue the best-of-seven series.

Jarrett Wong, 39, and his friend Randy Lum went to St. Louis to watch two of the first-round games and plan on

going to Chicago to cheer their team on.

"I got the green light from the wife, which was unexpected because once we got back from St. Louis I didn't think

she'd let me go," said Wong, a Delta-based insurance broker.

He expects to get upper-bowl tickets from a scalper in Chicago for about $150 US.

Getting tickets locally is going to set people back a lot more in some cases. Plaza-level tickets on Ticketmaster's site

will go for $457.50 each, while balcony-level tickets are priced at $117.50.

Local businesses hope to capitalize on Canucks fever hitting the Greater Vancouver area.

At Granville Sports Corner, manager Mike Jackson said he can feel the buildup.

Among the most popular Canucks items are hats and jerseys, he said.

"We get home-ice advantage," he said of the upcoming series, warning that no one should take Chicago lightly.

"Chicago is an exciting young team," he said.

Police plan to closely monitor the upcoming games and hope fans keep their emotions in check.

At the conclusion of the last round, Canucks fans celebrating at the Surrey-Delta border turned rowdy, jumping on

cars and breaking the leg of one RCMP officer.

Dr. Lawrence Miller is a registered psychologist who said that when large groups of fans converge they can turn

ugly.

"Fans of winning teams go on rampages just as much as with losing teams," he said.

Miller said that when people gather in groups of 50 or more, they can get caught up in the moment even though they

are normally law-abiding.

Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Houghton said police will be highly visible on the streets and want fans to behave.

"We want fans to have a good time but we ask people to exercise common sense," he said.

Sedins get another shot at Sammy

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — As Daniel Sedin tells it, you can’t actually see Sammy Pahlsson’s house from his, but you know

it’s there, 10 doors down, beside the sea in Ornskoldsvik.

Their Swedish home town isn’t big enough to hide anywhere, so it’s hard for Sedin to miss his neighbour. He’ll see

Pahlsson out for a run or driving by, at his gym or across the table from him at lunch. But somehow, Sedin wasn’t

around two summers ago when Pahlsson brought the Stanley Cup to his house.

“Well, I didn’t go to the party,” Sedin said Tuesday. “I think we were out of town, which was kind of lucky. I left.”

But surely they talked about it later — Pahlsson winning a Stanley Cup ring with the Anaheim Ducks because, in

part, his checking line dominated Daniel and Henrik Sedin during a five-game win against the Vancouver Canucks

in the second round of the National Hockey League playoffs that year.

“He never brought it up,” Daniel said. “And I’m not going to.”

Even from across the fjord — the Canuck twins live five minutes apart by boat, 40 minutes by car — Henrik Sedin

knows Pahlsson is there. It’s like that on the ice, too, where Pahlsson always seems to be in the way as one of the

NHL’s best checking centres.

It has been 27 years since Roger Neilson waved a white towel at referee Bob Myers in mock surrender during the

Canucks’ first playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Two years ago, had their DNA allowed it, the Sedins

might have surrendered against Pahlsson.

When the Canucks and Blackhawks open their second-round playoff series Thursday, the Sedins’ success or failure

against Pahlsson or whomever Chicago coach Joel Quenneville deploys against them will be paramount to

Vancouver.

This is not 1982. These Canucks and Blackhawks are far more talented than the mediocre teams from 27 years ago

that fought the Cinderella series, won 4-1 by Vancouver despite Myers.

Quenneville has options. He used Jonathan Toews’ first line against the top Calgary Flames during Chicago’s 4-2

first-round victory, but assigned Dave Bolland to check the Sedins this season. As a former Selke Trophy runnerup,

Pahlsson, acquired by the Blackhawks from the Ducks two months ago, theoretically centres Dustin Byfuglien and

Kris Versteeg on the checking line.

Regardless of who plays up front, Tsawwassen’s Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith — both Team Canada Olympic

candidates — will play often against the Sedins on Chicago’s defence.

“In my mind, those guys can face anyone and take the challenge head-on, and they did that against St. Louis,”

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said of the Sedins. “The twins are like all our players who were here two years

ago: They’re better.”

In the Canucks’ first-round sweep of the Blues, the Sedins and linemate Alex Burrows encountered checking centre

Jay McClement and St. Louis’s top defence pairing of Barret Jackman and Roman Polak, and still managed to

combine for 12 points and a plus-11 rating.

The Sedins downplayed matchups before the St. Louis series but, interestingly, each cited Pahlsson as a player they

find difficult to break down.

Pahlsson, who at 31 is nearly three years older than the twins, was born in the Swedish town of Ange but moved to

Ornskoldsvik as a teenager to play for MoDo. He and the Sedins became friends while teammates for three years.

All moved to the NHL for the 2000-01 season.

“It’s special because he lives close to us in our home town and we know him really well,” Henrik said. “But we’ve

played against matchups the whole year, so for us it’s not going to be a big difference. We know him better off the

ice, but that’s the only thing.”

On the ice, Pahlsson had four points and was plus-three in five playoff games against the twins two years ago. The

Sedins, weakened by flu and without any secondary Canuck scoring as a safety net, had just two points by Daniel in

the series and were a ghastly minus-eight.

Asked how he and his brother are different now, Daniel said: “Two years older, I guess. We know what we did in

those playoffs and we can’t do the same thing this year. I think it will be different against Chicago because I don’t

think they play the same way [defensively as Anaheim] and I don’t know if we’ll play against [Pahlsson], either.”

“I think they’ve just matured as players,” Burrows said of his linemates. “They’re still really gifted offensively, but

right now — and they’ll tell you this — they really take care of the defensive zone first and then the offence comes.

Two years ago, they might have cheated a little more to get more offence.

“They like this time of year. They want to be successful. They’re not thinking about going back home.”

Certainly not to somebody else’s Stanley Cup party, anyway.

Team close to healthy

Mitchell set to push soon

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver SunApril 29, 2009

The Canucks had their entire 24-man roster on the ice for practice Tuesday but that did not mean their entire 24-man

roster was 100-per-cent healthy.

Defenceman Willie Mitchell, who is nursing an undisclosed ailment, made it through his first full on-ice workout in

a week and reported that "most" of his soreness was gone. Most, but not all.

"I felt all right out there," Mitchell said. "I didn't fully push it. I plan to do that tomorrow. I've had a few days off in

the last week so I'm feeling a lot better and looking forward to getting going."

Since the Canucks' sweep of St. Louis April 21, Mitchell has had three team days off, two individual days off and

another half practice off.

Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault intimated there may be others with minor ailments, too. Today will be the final

tuneup before the Chicago series opens Thursday.

"I think it's safe to say, at this time of year, that any team that's in the playoffs doesn't have a lot of guys who are 100

per cent," Vigneault said. "It's part of playoff hockey. You play through whatever you have and that's what you

expect from your players. I'm sure the eight remaining teams are exactly the same way we are now."

At least one Blackhawk, high-scoring winger Patrick Sharp, is playing hurt. Sharp has a sore left knee he hurt April

3 against Nashville. Sharp still managed six points in six games against the Flames.

"It's lingering, definitely," Sharp said to a Chicago Tribune reporter. "My speed isn't exactly where I'd like it to be.

Hopefully the knee will get a little bit better as we go along and I get my stride back a little bit."

PROSPECT FETED: Top Canuck prospect Cody Hodgson was named the Ontario Hockey League's most

outstanding player Tuesday, beating out the more heralded John Tavares. Hodgson collected 92 points in 53 regular-

season games for the Brampton Battalion.

The 19-year-old centre, Brampton's captain, was chosen 10th over-all by the Canucks in last June's NHL entry draft.

"We're extremely proud of Cody and his accomplishments," said Canuck GM Mike Gillis. "He has continued to

display all the attributes that resulted in us selecting him. We're confident he'll continue to build on these

accomplishments and that he'll be a valuable member of our organization for years to come."

FINN-TASTIC: Former Canuck defenceman Jyrki Lumme was spotted Tuesday in the bowels of GM Place chatting

with fellow Finns Sami Salo and Ossi Vaananen. Lumme played on the '94 Canucks, the last Vancouver team to

make it beyond the second round of the playoffs.

"I'm heading back to Finland tomorrow but I'll be back in June for the finals," Lumme said with a wink.

Lumme's long-time franchise record for points by a defenceman was broken this season by Mattias Ohlund.

QUOTABLE: "We have a lot of young guys in here. It's like we don't even know any better. It feels good to get the

first one and, hopefully, we can move on and continue our pretty good year," -- Blackhawk forward Patrick Kane to

reporters in Calgary after he and his mates ousted the Flames.

Memory serves Canucks well

Vancouver dominated Chicago on the scoreboard and in the

trenches in the teams’ last two meetings

By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun columnist

VANCOUVER — They would never admit it publicly, but if the Vancouver Canucks could have picked their

poison — Detroit, Calgary or Chicago in the second round — chances are the Blackhawks would have gotten the

nod.

The Canucks like to think that maybe, just maybe, they managed to climb inside the heads of the Blackhawks with

two decisive wins over Chicago late in the season.

On Feb. 2, Vancouver won at home by a lop-sided score of 7-3. Perhaps more importantly, the Canucks went into

the United Center on March 29 — a month ago today — and registered what many considered to be their most

impressive win of the season.

The Canucks dominated the Hawks in their own building, winning decisively by a score of 4-0 and answering every

physical challenge the Hawks tried to deliver. The game featured a third-period line brawl that began after Hawks'

winger Dustin Byfuglien delivered a nasty elbow to Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo.

That win, on the scoreboard and in the trenches, has been tucked away in the Canucks’ memory bank. Chances are,

the Hawks haven’t forgotten about it either.

“It's nice that we went into their building and we played one of our best road games of the season,” defenceman

Kevin Bieksa said Tuesday. “We played very well defensively and we got a big win. It was a physical game and we

matched that. It's good to have that under our belt, but we know it’s playoff time and everything gets picked up a

notch and they are playing good hockey now and just beat a good Calgary team. We’ll be ready for them.”

Bieksa was front and centre during that brawl, ending up down on the ice twice with Chicago's Ben Eager in a fight

he called one of the nastiest of his career.

Fellow defenceman Shane O'Brien was also in the middle of those fisticuffs.

“I’m glad we won that game, I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that game,” O’Brien said Tuesday. “We are

a confident bunch, but I’m sure they are a confident bunch. They just beat a good Calgary team in a six-game series

and they went into Calgary, which isn’t a very easy place to play, and got it done. We’ve got two confident teams

and it's just going to come down to who executes more. Like I said, there are no secrets this time of year. It’s

whoever wants it more gets it.”

It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting it more than goalie Roberto Luongo, who is more than a little anxious to start

playing again after a week off.

“It’s nice to know we finally have an opponent,” he said. “It kind of gets the butterflies going a bit in your stomach

to finally know what’s going on and we’re excited to get going here.”

Goaltending is a position where the Canucks think they have an edge.

Luongo has been razor sharp since the all-star break and Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was a big reason the

Hawks got by the Flames. But Khabibulin is 0-9-1 in his last 11 starts against the Canucks and hasn’t beaten

Vancouver since 1998 when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.

This is the series almost everyone thought was going to be played in the first round. The Canucks and Hawks spent

much of the last few weeks of the regular season as the fourth and fifth seeds in the West and seemed to be on a

collision course in the first round.

Destiny is what Luongo calls this best-of-seven second-round series that begins 6 p.m. Thursday night at General

Motors Place.

“It’s funny, I was thinking about that this morning,” Luongo said. “All along, everybody thought we were going to

play them in the first round, but I guess destiny is destiny. We were bound to meet and it’s going to be a great

series.”

The Canucks, coming off a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues, are obviously feeling good about themselves

heading into the Chicago series. But if there’s one area they know they must improve on, it's in the discipline

department. The Canucks allowed the Blues 24 power-play opportunities and know they can’t repeat that against a

Hawks team whose power play has been second best in the playoffs.

“First thing is I don’t know whether we are going to be able to give them seven power plays a night,” Luongo said.

“We are going to have to be more disciplined for sure. Even though we want to be physical and have that edge, we

have to stay out of the box.”

Kesler likes red-carpet treatment for

defensive play

'Defensive forward' takes Oscars approach -- 'I'm happy to

be nominated' -- to award after offensive breakout this

season

By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun

The NHL awards will be handed out June 18 in Las Vegas, where Ryan Kesler knows he doesn't figure to be an

odds-on favourite to win the Frank Selke Trophy.

That's okay, because Kesler felt just like those Academy Award nominees who always say they are just so happy to

have been nominated.

Kesler, 2008 Selke winner Pavel Datsyuk of Detroit and Philadelphia's Mike Richards were named Tuesday as the

three finalists for the award given to the NHL's top defensive forward.

"Obviously, there are a lot of good defensive players in the league and a lot of great two-way players," Kesler said

after the Vancouver Canucks practised at General Motors Place. "I'm pretty surprised, but extremely happy to be

nominated."

Kesler seemed to recognize he is in tough to win the award, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers'

Assoication.

"You never know," he said. "I am in pretty good company. Those two guys are really good players, so we'll see what

happens."

Kesler has always taken particular pride in his defensive game, although he was such a gifted player in minor

hockey that when he was on the ice his team was usually in the other team's end.

"Going back as far as I can think, I have always prided myself on defence first," he said. "I'm just very, very happy

and proud I got it [the nomination]."

There is a certain irony that Kesler received the nomination in a year when he broke through offensively is such a

big way. He set career highs for goals (26), assists (33) and points (59) this past season.

"The honour is well deserved," said Canuck coach Alain Vigneault. "He's had a really good year for us. He works

hard and competes hard at both ends of the rink, and given an opportunity to have a little bit more of an offensive

role, he was able to jump on that and jump on the power-play time and I think it worked out well for our team."

"It's great for him," added Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo. "He's worked hard all year and he's done a lot of good

things, not only defensively, but offensively as well. He's very deserving and we're all happy for him."

Bandwagon rolling across Canada

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver SunApril 29, 2009

A week ago, Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault refused to touch the topic on whether his team could become

'Canada's team' because the Habs and Flames were still alive. Well, they're both dead now, at least their Stanley Cup

hopes are, leaving the Canucks as the country's last remaining hope. Said Coach Vee on Tuesday: "We have a great

fan base here in B.C. and Vancouver. People have been very supportive and I'm sure people are going to continue to

be supportive. If anyone else wants to join in, we're more than happy."

Coaches attempt to play down past

MATTHEW SEKERES

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

April 28, 2009 at 11:03 PM EDT

VANCOUVER — When the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks last locked horns, the third period of the

game was interrupted by a line brawl and the head coaches antagonized each other from their respective benches.

The fisticuffs were easy to explain: Blackhawks forward Dustin Byfuglien subtly punched Canucks goaltender

Roberto Luongo after crashing the net. Goaltender abuse is the easiest way to start a melee in the NHL, so the

violent aftermath on March 29, during a 4-0 Vancouver victory, was predictable.

But that the coaches, who once worked together for the St. Louis Blues, would involve themselves in the theatrics

— during a regular-season NHL game between teams in different divisions no less — was a little strange. Chicago's

Joel Quenneville was screaming at, and gesturing toward, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who glared back, palms

open, as though he were asking: you want a piece of me?

"I talked to Joel about half-an-hour ago, and everything seemed fine," Vigneault said yesterday as his team prepared

to face Chicago in their Western Conference semi-final playoff series. "I'm not sure [why Quenneville was so

incensed that day]. You'll have to ask him. I'm such a likable guy."

Truth is, there was plenty of blame to be assigned that night, especially during a third period in which 90 penalty

minutes were piled up.

Adam Burish took a run at Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin, which drew the ire of Canucks defenceman Shane

O'Brien, who tried to go through two officials to get to the offending Blackhawks player. On two occasions, Ben

Eager lifted Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa off his feet and drove him into the ice during a prolonged fight that

ended with Bieksa's T-shirt ripped to shreds. And then there was Canucks super pest Alexandre Burrows pulling the

hair of defenceman Duncan Keith.

It was a night professional wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, if not NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, would

have been proud of. Yet, outside of the three-ring third period, it was a fabulous hockey game. There was some

terrific end-to-end action, some enormous (and clean) body checks, a penalty shot and a goal from Vancouver's top

line that was worthy of the Louvre.

In short: It was a playoff-intense game just a few weeks before the playoffs, and now the Canucks and Blackhawks

get to do it again — at least four more times.

Game 1 is tomorrow at GM Place in Vancouver.

"It proved that we could win in that building," Canucks forward Ryan Kesler said of the explosive game at the

United Center, which evened the season series between the teams at 2-2. "It was a spirited affair that kind of got out

of hand, but I don't know if you'll see that sort of stuff in the playoffs."

Prior to March 29, the Canucks had lost twice to Chicago (home and away) and recorded a 7-3 home-ice victory in

February, when the Hawks were rumoured to have been "Roxied," a reference to The Roxy, a legendary Vancouver

nightclub, that has gobbled up many a visiting team (particularly young ones).

But focus shouldn't be an issue for either team in this series. The Canucks are into the second round with home-ice

advantage for the first time since 2003, while the Blackhawks advanced beyond the opening round for the first time

since 1996.

Rested Canucks ready to go

The Canadian Press

April 28, 2009 at 7:36 PM EDT

VANCOUVER — The rest and repair Vancouver enjoyed over the last week will probably be needed as the

Canucks get ready to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

There isn't much love lost between the two clubs. The last game the teams played — a 4-0 Vancouver win in

Chicago — featured a third-period brawl.

"This is another team we don't really like," defenceman Kevin Bieksa said after the Canucks practised at GM Place

Tuesday. "They are a hard-working, physical team. It will be a battle.

"There will be a couple of scrums in this series. It will be entertaining for everyone."

The NHL didn't officially announce dates for the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal. Canuck players said

Game 1 will be Thursday, with the second game expected Saturday.

The Detroit Red Wings play the Anaheim Ducks in the other Western Conference semifinal.

The Canucks also learned Tuesday that Ryan Kesler has been nominated for the Frank Selke Trophy, awarded to the

top defensive forward.

"It's exciting," said Kesler, who was named a finalist along with Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings and Mike Richards

of the Philadelphia Flyers. "It's very rewarding for myself."

The Canucks haven't played a game since a 3-2 overtime victory last Tuesday which gave them a sweep against the

St. Louis Blues in the playoff's opening round.

The Blackhawks advanced by beating the Calgary Flames 4-1 Monday night to win that series in six games

Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo said it's nice to get the waiting and wondering over.

"It's nice to know we finally have an opponent," said Luongo, who leads all playoff goalies with a 1.15 goals-against

average and a .962 save percentage. "It kind of gets the butterflies going a bit in your stomach."

The Canucks are also the last Canadian team remaining in the playoffs. Bieksa smiled when asked about Vancouver

being Canada's team.

"Hopefully we'll get some of the fans back East to start cheering for us," he said.

The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

There are similarities between the Blues and Blackhawks. Both are teams stocked with young talent.

In Nikolai Khabibulin, the Hawks have a goaltender who won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Players

like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Cam Barker supply plenty of offensive power.

Coach Alain Vigneault said the Blackhawks can come at an opponent in waves.

"Chicago presents a team with so much balance," said Vigneault. "They have three lines that can score on a regular

basis.

"They have their energy line and they have defencemen that join the rush a lot better than St. Louis did. We are

going to need our four lines.

"We're going to need our forwards to do a really good job as far as reading the rush, picking up their defence and,

when the opportunity is there, to hit their defence in a legal, physical way."

Kesler said the Canucks also can't continue to dare fate by taking penalties. Vancouver was called for 29 penalties

for 81 minutes against St. Louis. The Canucks were saved by a penalty-killing unit that was 95.8 per cent effective.

The Blackhawks power play is second best in the playoffs at 29.2 per cent.

"We have to be very disciplined," said Kesler. "The first round wasn't good enough.

"We weren't nearly as disciplined as we should have been and we gave up a lot of power plays. We have to nip that

in the bud, especially against a team like this."

Protecting Luongo will also be important.

It was a hit on the Canuck captain that started the blood boiling the last time the two teams played. The Blackhawks

were also accused of bumping into Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

Canuck defenceman Shane O'Brien didn't want to talk about the history between the clubs.

"I remember a lot about that but I won't talk about that," he said with a smile. "Actions speak louder than words. I

guarantee one thing. They are not going to be getting to Lui as easily as maybe they got to Kiprusoff."

Vancouver and Chicago split four games this season. The Blackhawks won the first two games 4-2 and 3-1. The

Canucks won the last two meetings 7-3 and 4-0.

The Canucks entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference, finishing with 100 points from a 45-

27-10 record. The Blackhawks had 104 points from a 46-24-12 record, but were second in the Central Division,

eight points behind the Detroit Red Wings.

The Canucks enter the series healthy. Defenceman Willie Mitchell, who had missed the last few days of practice

with "body soreness" skated with the team Tuesday.

The Blackhawks remained in Calgary on Monday night and arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday.

While the Canucks are rested, veteran centre Mats Sundin said the Blackhawks have momentum on their side.

"It's going to be tough," he said. "They played really well to beat Calgary in six games.

"We have to make sure we get ready and get the intensity and get our team ready to play like we did against St.

Louis."

Canucks to battle Hawks By BOB MACKIN, SUN MEDIA

It's feeling a little like 1982, except the stakes aren't as high. It'll be the Vancouver Canucks against the Chicago Blackhawks in the best-of-seven Western conference semifinal series.

Date for game one is tomorrow evening at 6 p.m.

The Blackhawks doused the Calgary Flames in six games. The Canucks swept the Blues.

Vancouver and Chicago split the season series, but the Canucks won 7-3 and 4-0 in their only 2009 calendar meetings.

The Windy City Wunderkinds were actually better than the Lotusland Lumberjacks in 2008-2009. Fourth-place Chicago had one more win and three fewer losses for 104 points. The Canucks had 100 points, but finished third because they won the Northwest division.

The goaltenders once shared a state. Nikolai Khabibulin backstopped the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Bolts' 2004 Stanley Cup championship. Roberto Luongo was a Florida Panther, but never saw the playoffs from his perch on the edge of the Everglades.

Meanwhile, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson has yet to announce his friendly wager with Chicago mayor Richard Daley. Robertson does have what Daley wants: An Olympic Games. Chicago is one of four cities bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Fistric lines up Griffins Moose defenceman likes to establish physical presence

By KEN WIEBE, SUN MEDIA

Mark Fistric is embracing the added responsibility with open arms.

The Manitoba Moose defenceman figures to continue to play a valuable role on a shutdown pairing with Maxime Fortunus as his team prepares to face the Grand Rapids Griffins in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Quite simply, Fistric was a force in the first round series with the Toronto Marlies after finishing the regular season with the Dallas Stars.

The North Division final opens Friday at the MTS Centre and when it does, Fistric and Fortunus expect to see a healthy dose of Darren Haydar, Ville Leino and Justin Abdelkader, who combined for 31 points in an opening-round series against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Taking the body against those skilled players will be a key in trying to contain them.

"It's important for me as a player, to establish that physical play -- when you're on the ice with me, you're going to get hit," said Fistric, who had four assists in 36 games with the Stars and eight assists in 35 games with the Moose during the regular season. "With me doing that, the team can feed off it. When we're playing a physical game, it knocks guys off pucks and makes the defensive zone coverage a lot easier.

"It's definitely going to be a big challenge. They're going to come out with a lot of skill and it's up to us to shut them down. It's a huge responsibility. Grand Rapids has been relying on them and if we can shut them down, it gives us a huge chance to win."

When asked for his thoughts about logging nearly 30 minutes of ice time in the series clincher, Fistric was grinning from ear to ear.

"I'd play more if I had to," he said. "I don't like sitting on the bench. I love to play and the more I can play, the better."

Known more for his play in the defensive zone, Fistric also chipped in a goal and two assists in the first round, while also giving the penalty kill a big boost.

"I hadn't scored a goal all year, so to get one in the playoffs and get the ball rolling in that game (Game 4) was exciting," said Fistric, who scored only once in 67 games during the 2007-08 season split between Dallas and the Iowa Stars. "It's exciting for me. I don't get to play power play that much, so it's good to be out there and contribute in all aspects of the game is big for me and I'm enjoying it."

Fistric, 22, figures that falling behind in the opening series should serve his team well as the playoffs continue.

"It's good to face a little adversity, it makes you better in the rounds to come," said Fistric, a former captain of the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League and first round choice (28th overall) of the Stars in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. "When you kind of breeze through the first round, it's not always a good thing."

Moose head coach Scott Arniel knew what Fistric was capable of and wasn't worried about him suffering any sort of letdown.

"He did what he was supposed to do, he was a good shutdown defenceman and he added some offence for us," said Arniel. "He logged some big minutes and he was physical against a team that really tried to run us out of the building. He was one of our key players in that series."

Round 2 Western predictions Monday, April 13, 2009

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks

7 Sportsnet.ca ranking (Out of 10) 5.4

Canucks Read full analysis Blackhawks

100 Regular season points 104

(4-0, STL) Round 1 series (4-2, CGY)

Mark Spector: Talk about uncharted territory. The Chicago Blackhawks haven't been in a second round series since 1996, while the Vancouver Canucks haven't been favoured in one since 1994. But here they both are: the best young team in the Western Conference against the best team in the West in '09, who breezed through the first round in straight games over St. Louis. This season was all about rebirth in Chicago, with a season full of sell-outs as an Original Six city that had gone stale wiped off the mould and threw a party for a club that matters again in the Windy City. The problem is, next year is supposed to be the Blackhawks' year, not this one. Vancouver, meanwhile, is ahead of its own schedule set by new general manager Mike Gillis. He was supposed to take a little time to turn this franchise around. So much for that plan. With the emergence of players like Selke candidate Ryan Kesler, East Coast League survivor Alex Burrows, some grit from of a swift and tough fourth line of Ryan Johnson, Darcy Hordichuk and Rick Rypien, and some toughness on the blue-line from Willie Mitchell, Shane O'Brien and Kevin Bieksa, these aren't your father's weak-hearted Canucks anymore. And at least through Round 1, the Sedins showed they are ready to be playoff producers, the final nail in the coffin of the reputation Vancouver lugged into this post-season.

They'll see a Blackhawks team that exposed Miikka Kiprusoff and the supposed-to-be hard-nosed Calgary Flames in Round 1. These young Hawks can fly, have a fantastic top pairing in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and have Nikolai Khabibulin playing as well as he did in taking Tampa to the Cup in '04. They're taking a big step up against Vancouver however, a team that is both healthy and due. Sportsnet.ca prediction: Canucks in six.

Chicago Blackhawks Clippings Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks believe in themselves

Think they can advance past Vancouver in Stanley Cup playoffs

By Chris Kuc Tribune reporter

April 29, 2009

They began to believe about a month into the 2008-09 season.

It was then that the Blackhawks started thinking their preseason plans of merely reaching the playoffs for the first time in seven years weren‟t grandiose enough.

“Those goals changed probably in November,” veteran defenseman Brian Campbell said. “Now it‟s dream big and go after it all. We have the horses to do it and who knows what can happen.”

What has happened so far is the Hawks already have surpassed what earlier would have amounted to a successful season and now have their sights set on making history as they make their first appearance in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1996. They will take on the Vancouver Canucks in a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal which begins Thursday night at General Motors Place.

The Hawks are flying high after dispatching the Calgary Flames four games to two Monday night with their 4-1 road victory.

“That was the goal at the start of the year, to make the playoffs,” winger Patrick Kane said. “Then you see how rookies step up and different players come into their own. So far the year has been pretty successful. We don‟t want to stop here, though. We want to keep going.”

It‟s the third postseason meeting of all time between the Hawks and Canucks, with each team claiming a series victory. The Hawks swept Vancouver 4-0 in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals in the last meeting between the franchises. Vancouver topped the Hawks 4-1 in the 1982 Campbell Conference finals the first time the franchises met.

“Since the start of the year guys weren‟t happy with just saying the fans are back and it‟s a fun team to watch,” forward Adam Burish said. “We wanted to show that we‟re a good hockey team and we‟re ... going to do more than just make the playoffs.

“It‟s more than just being OK. We want to be a great team. We want to go deep in the playoffs.”

The hopes of a deep run were bolstered as they dismantled the Flames, including the feat of closing out the series with a playoff victory on the road, something the Hawks hadn‟t done since defeating the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on April 18, 2002.

“That‟s what „Q‟ (coach Joel Quenneville) talked to us about before [Monday‟s] game,” Burish said. “If you want to win the big prize, you have to win on the road. We hadn‟t been able to do that yet. It‟s just another steppingstone for us to get some confidence in a different kind of way.

“Holding off a team that was desperate in the third period and winning a game on the road is big for us and our confidence. It‟s little things on our way that we can hang onto and build off.”

The Hawks, who are making their 54th all-time appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, split the regular season series with Vancouver. The Hawks won the first two games Oct. 19 at the United Center and Dec. 20 at GM Place before the Canucks took the final two Feb. 7 at GM Place and March 29 at the UC.

Vancouver has been resting and waiting for its next opponent since sweeping the Blues in the quarterfinals.

485514 Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks tickets available Monday for conference finals

Chris Kuc April 29, 2009

Single-game tickets for potential Hawks home games in the Western Conference finals and Stanley Cup finals will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday.

Tickets can be purchased at the United Center box office, the Blackhawks Store at 333 N. Michigan Ave., at any Ticketmaster outlet by calling 800-745-3000 or at www.chicagoblackhawks.com.

There is an eight-ticket total limit and no more than four for one game.

Chicago Tribune LOADED 04.29.2009

485516 Chicago Blackhawks

Road hazard’s ahead: Round 2 starts Thursday for Blackhawks against well-rested, healthy Canucks

Round 2 starts Thursday against well-rested, healthy Canucks

April 29, 2009 By LEN ZIEHM lziehm@suntimes.com

Tuesday wasn‟t a day for the Blackhawks to look ahead. It was a day to savor their first playoff series victory in 13 years.

But the Vancouver Canucks, the Hawks‟ next opponent in the Western Conference semifinals, pose a tougher challenge than the Calgary Flames, whom the Hawks dispatched in six games with a convincing 4-1 road win Monday.

While the Hawks swept the Flames during the regular season, they struggled mightily in their last two games against the Canucks, who made a late surge to win the Northwest Division before sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.

The Canucks haven‟t played since April 21, so they‟ll be more rested than the Hawks when the series begins Thursday at General Motors Place in Vancouver. And while the Flames were decimated by injuries, the Canucks are as healthy as the Hawks.

Sami Salo and Willie Mitchell, Vancouver‟s top defensive pairing, returned to practice from lower-body injuries Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The Canucks also regained winger Taylor Pyatt, who hasn‟t played since his fiancee was killed in an auto accident April 2.

Though the teams split their four regular-season meetings, the Canucks took the last two decisively. They opened a 6-0 lead en route to a 7-3 victory in February in Vancouver, and Roberto Luongo shut out the Hawks 4-0 last month at the United Center in a fight-filled game that left some bad blood.

The Hawks didn‟t learn their next opponent until Anaheim closed out its upset of top-seeded San Jose about two hours after the Hawks eliminated Calgary. The Ducks‟ victory meant the fourth-seeded Hawks will meet No. 3 Vancouver, while No. 2 Detroit gets No. 8 Anaheim.

The Hawks flew to Vancouver on Tuesday and have an afternoon practice scheduled at GM Place.

“We worked hard for this,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said Monday night. “We‟re still a young team just having fun, and we‟re trying to enjoy it.”

Added winger Patrick Kane: “A lot of different guys have stepped up, and that makes us feel good about our team. We have unsung heroes and role players that have stepped up. We don‟t want to stop here. Let‟s keep going.”

After games in Vancouver on Thursday and Saturday, the series will shift to the United Center, where the Hawks have sold out every game.

“Our fans have been unbelievable all year,” Seabrook said. “We had goals set out at the start of the season, first to make the playoffs. Then we wanted home ice. Our fans have have stuck with us through tough times. They‟ve earned this as well as we have.”

The Calgary series produced a good matchup in goal with the Hawks‟ Nikolai Khabibulin and the Flames‟ Miikka Kiprusoff. The Vancouver series should present an even better one in Khabibulin vs. Luongo. But it‟s still a team game.

“So far the year‟s been pretty successful,” Kane said. “Our goal at the start was just to make the playoffs.”

Now they‟re having to reassess those goals.

“I imagine Chicago‟s pretty wild to get at least two, three more home playoff games,” Seabrook said. “We‟re just enjoying this.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485517 Chicago Blackhawks

One step down Rocky Witz’s road

April 29, 2009

By NEIL HAYES nhayes@suntimes.com

CALGARY, Alberta-Rocky Wirtz called the Sun-Times late Monday to offer his reaction to the Blackhawks clinching their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. He watched the game at an alehouse in Florida while attending a liquor wholesalers conference. John McDonough wasn‟t in Calgary, either, to witness the Hawks‟ 4-1 victory over the Flames. He watched at home on TV.

What? You‟re telling me the Hawks won a playoff series for the first time in 13 years, and the chairman and president had someplace more important to be? They couldn‟t work something as significant as Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals into their busy schedules?

Round 2 starts Thursday for Hawks against well-rested Canucks Victorious Blackhawks give hockey a shakeup Confident Wirtz likes Hawks‟ chances on the road Blackhawks and Canucks season series Caps, Canes advance with Game 7 wins Sign up for text alerts: Get Hawks updates

“We have a few things to do here,” a playfully sarcastic McDonough said Tuesday. “I don‟t think anybody could follow it any more than we are. It‟s the first time we‟ve been in the Stanley Cup playoffs in a long time, and so much goes into it, I preferred not to be gone for seven or eight days. Believe me, nothing is more important.”

Even though they celebrated thousands of miles away from the private lounge the team rented for a post-series party in Calgary, no one can accuse Wirtz or McDonough of being hands-off managers. Their fingerprints are all over the Hawks‟ resurgence, and they are hardly satisfied. To hear McDonough tell it, there wasn‟t a lot of backslapping at team headquarters the day after.

The Canucks await Thursday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals in Vancouver. Full steam ahead.

Like the song says, here come the Hawks.

Only the beginning

“It is a great story, but I don‟t think anybody here is gushing or awestruck,” McDonough said. “This is a process. [Monday] I really believe was graduation day. We took more than a step forward. We took a full stride. It‟s great for this franchise, but we all realize in all our respective roles that we have a long way to go.”

Last week, McDonough and Wirtz celebrated the 17-month anniversary of the day they met at a suburban restaurant to discuss McDonough leaving the Cubs to join the Hawks. It‟s kind of funny. Like a young couple, they still chart their anniversary monthly.

The Hawks were mostly an afterthought then. They are front-page news today. They had the second-lowest attendance in the NHL then. They led the league in attendance this season. Home games weren‟t televised when Wirtz and McDonough had lunch. According to Comcast SportsNet, almost a million fans tuned into the first-round series. Then, the Hawks had a young and promising roster. After Monday night‟s whistle-to-whistle superiority, that promise is being fulfilled.

Few worthwhile things in life are accomplished as quickly as the Hawks‟ about-face. Things have gone so swimmingly, in fact, that it‟s easy to assume the partnership has exceeded McDonough‟s expectations. Not so, he said.

“I would say it has met my expectations,” he said. “I would not have taken this job if I did not see the potential of this manifesting. I‟m very pleased at the pace that it has all happened. I‟m finding out a lot of things on my own. But we‟re doing everything we can.”

On with the show

McDonough planned to board a flight to Vancouver this morning. Expect Wirtz to make his way to British Columbia before the series ends. As McDonough said, for years the Hawks were off Broadway. They‟re on Broadway now, a major attraction.

It‟s time for the bosses to take in the show.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485518 Chicago Blackhawks

Confident Rocky Wirtz likes Hawks’ chances on the road

April 29, 2009

By LEN ZIEHM lziehm@suntimes.com

With his team safely through one round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz isn‟t ruling out a deeper run in the team‟s first postseason appearance since 2002.

“You don‟t know,” Wirtz said Monday night from Florida. “You‟d like to win one of those first two on the road and take it from there. Anything can happen. We‟ve seen so many home teams lose.”

The Hawks were 22-15-4 on the road in the regular season and wrapped up their first-round series with a 4-1 victory at Calgary on Monday.

“The nice thing about the Hawks is that they‟ve shown they can win on the road all year,” Wirtz said. “Why not keep it going in the playoffs?”

Welcome break

The Hawks were glad to have a day off Tuesday.

“Any time you get a series done in less than seven games, you get an extra day of rest,” said forward Adam Burish, who scored the winning goal Monday. “That‟s important. You‟re tired. It‟s a different intensity level [in the playoffs], and we haven‟t experienced that. It takes a toll on your body.

“But that‟s what makes it so much fun, so rewarding. You feel you‟ve earned a day off.”

Burish felt the Hawks proved their toughness against Calgary.

“All season teams felt they could challenge us physically,” he said. “We‟ve done a good job of answering that back. Our guys enjoy that.”

Notes

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for the Hawks‟ potential appearances in the Western Conference finals and Stanley Cup finals.

• • Comcast SportsNet reported that close to 1 million households (946,576) watched its coverage of the Calgary series. Monday‟s game had a 5.28 rating (184,400 households) -- a station record for a Hawks game-and a 6.94 at peak time.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485519 Chicago Blackhawks

Victorious Blackhawks give hockey a shakeup

April 29, 2009 By NEIL HAYES nhayes@suntimes.com

CALGARY, Alberta-Walk the streets of Calgary, and the skies are clear one minute. The next, it‟s as if you‟re inside a snow globe that has been vigorously shaken.

That‟s what the Blackhawks did here. They shook things up. The Western Conference quarterfinal series victory over the Flames will result in a reshuffling of a Calgary franchise that has advanced past the first round just once in 20 years. The Hawks also shook up the long-held belief that experience is paramount in the playoffs.

When the best-of-seven series reached its crescendo in Games 5 and 6, it was the Hawks who appeared the more poised and proven team. It was the Flames who took dumb penalties and the Hawks who made them pay.

With the first-round hurdle behind them, the Hawks can look ahead to Round 2 starting Thursday in Vancouver.

“We still have to prove ourselves,” defenseman Brian Campbell said. “The first round is tough, but it‟s only going to get tougher.”

The Hawks refused to be intimidated by the veteran Flames, and it‟s doubtful they will shrink from the Canucks. Much was made of how the Hawks would stand up to the rigors of playoff hockey. In the end, they dished out more punishment than they received.

Ice was in short supply in the Flames‟ locker room after Game 6 on Monday. Dion Phaneuf missed the finale because of broken ribs. Curtis Glencross broke his nose in a collision with Brent Seabrook in Game 4. The Hawks‟ Ben Eager busted Adam Pardy‟s beak in a Game 5 ruckus.

If the Canucks think they can push the Hawks around, well, go ahead, make their day.

“All season people have thought they could challenge us physically,” forward Adam Burish said. “We‟ve done a pretty good job answering those challenges.”

The Canucks have been twiddling their thumbs for a week since sweeping the St. Louis Blues. The break is allowing them to get some key players healthy, but will they be sharp in Game 1 after such a long layoff? The Hawks made Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff look ordinary. Can they do the same to Roberto Luongo?

The Hawks have answered many questions. Others will be answered soon enough.

“Hopefully we answered some people who said, „Hey, you‟re too young to win a playoff series,”” Burish said. “It‟s a hungry, feisty group of guys who want to play with a chip on their shoulders.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485520 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks and Canucks season series

April 29, 2009

A look at the four regular-season meetings between the Blackhawks and Canucks:

OCT. 19 AT UNITED CENTER

Hawks 4, Canucks 2: Joel Quenneville earned his first victory in his home debut, and goaltender Cristobal Huet also got his first win as a Hawk. Patrick Sharp had two goals and an assist and Patrick Kane one goal and two assists.

DEC. 20 AT GM PLACE

Hawks 3, Canucks 1: Huet was in goal again as the Hawks gave up the first goal before rallying for their seventh consecutive victory. Kane, Sharp and Jonathan Toews had the Hawks‟ goals.

FEB. 7 AT GM PLACE

Canucks 7, Hawks 3: The Hawks were 11-0 vs. Canadian teams until this pounding in Vancouver. Huet was yanked after the first period as the Hawks fell behind 6-0 midway through the second.

MARCH 29 AT UNITED CENTER

Canucks 4, Hawks 0: This one turned ugly as the frustrated Hawks drew 63 penalty minutes. They couldn‟t cope with Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, while the Canucks were able to solve Nikolai Khabibulin. Len Ziehm

Chicago Sun Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485521 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks prove they can take game to another level

By Tim Sassone | Daily Herald Staff

CALGARY, Alberta - Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon was out of breath as he reached the elevator to head for the dressing room following Monday‟s series-clinching 4-1 win over the Flames at the Saddledome.

“You out of shape?” someone teased Tallon.

“No, that‟s my heart pounding,” Tallon said.

These Hawks will do that to you.

It‟s on to the Western Conference semifinals for the Hawks, who will open their best-of-seven series with the Vancouver Canucks later this week at GM Place.

The Hawks are full of confidence, and why not? They beat a strong Flames team in six games, winning an elimination game on the road in a hostile building and answering questions about their ability to be physical and getting contributions up and down the lineup.

The Hawks will be the underdogs against the Canucks, but that‟s fine with them. They believe they can beat anyone and get where they want to go.

“It‟s exciting to look ahead at the opportunity we have,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “As a team, we‟ve got a lot to be happy about considering how far we‟ve come, but only for a little while.”

With the first-round win, the Hawks proved to themselves, and also to those outside the dressing room, that they aren‟t just a group of young guys happy to make the playoffs.

“We try not to think about what‟s being said,” Toews said. “If you think about that stuff a lot, about people telling you that you don‟t have experience or you don‟t have this or that, then maybe you start to believe it a little bit.

“We did a good job of sticking to what makes us successful, and staying confident and positive in the locker room. This was a series we knew we could win if we took it step by step. Not once were we satisfied with what we accomplished the previous night. We kept moving forward. We kept looking at the next step and the next opportunity and played a solid six games.”

Toews thought the turning point in the series was how the Hawks were able to put aside losses in Games 3 and 4 in Calgary and return to the United Center to win Game 5 on Saturday, which they did convincingly, 5-1.

“Having lost two games after winning the first two, a lot of teams might be discouraged,” Toews said. “At that point it could have been easy to give up the momentum and say that‟s a good team over there, but at no point did we roll over and say it‟s over. We stuck with it, and Game 5 was huge for us getting back and playing the right way.”

“It was a good test for us losing Games 3 and 4,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It got our attention back.”

The power play made a big difference in the final two games, and for the series. The Hawks had 7 power-play goals in the six games to Calgary‟s 2.

“There were a lot of things that helped us in the series,” Brent Seabrook said. “Maybe the biggest thing was we got our power play rolling and capitalized on that.”

Said Flames captain Jarome Iginla: “Power-play wise, we didn‟t get it done, and they did. Give the Hawks credit. That‟s a very good young team.”

In the end, the Hawks‟ speed and skill was too much for the Flames to handle, particularly the Calgary defensemen.

“I felt when we skated well they couldn‟t hang with us,” Brian Campbell said.

“If you give up the puck, they transition better than any team in the league,” said Flames winger Eric Nystrom.

Daily Herald Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485522 Chicago Blackhawks

A look back at the heroes for the Hawks in playoffs

By Tim Sassone | Daily Herald Staff

Published: 4/28/2009 4:43 PM

CALGARY, Alberta - There were heroes in every corner of the dressing room for the Blackhawks in their Western Conference quarterfinal series win over Calgary.

“That‟s playoff hockey and what you need to win games, guys stepping up,” defenseman Brian Campbell said.

“All year we haven‟t counted on one group,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Our balance is important to our success and during the series we did go deep into our bench.”

Forget the three stars of the series. The Hawks went way beyond that number.

Nikolai Khabibulin: The Stanley Cup ring on his finger tells you Khabibulin knows what he‟s doing at playoff time. He was directly responsible for wins in Games 1, 2 and 6.

“I know after the two losses in Calgary he was really mad at himself, and look how he responded in Games 5 and 6,” Campbell said.

“He showed why he‟s our best player,” Jonathan Toews said.

Brent Seabrook: He logged more minutes than anyone on either team in the six games, and was a force physically to go with a goal and 5 assists.

“He‟s been that kind of a player for us all year, him and Duncan (Keith) playing those key matchup minutes,” Quenneville said. “We value his contributions, what he does defensively for us, and anything offensively is a bonus.”

Adam Burish: He backed up his talk with strong penalty killing and physical play. Then he added a key goal in Game 6.

“Adam played great for us, blocking shots, working hard and doing the little things,” Campbell said. “Eventually someone like him is going to get rewarded.”

Flames winger Rene Bourque was never heard from again in the series after Burish roughed him up at the end of Game 3.

Kris Versteeg: He lead the team in scoring with 7 points, including 5 assists, and was a key penalty killer.

Cam Barker: He‟s getting better and better. Barker had 3 goals and 3 assists in the series and played physical on the back end.

Jonathan Toews, Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp: They combined for 8 goals and 18 points and were difference makers.

“Their best players were better than our best players,” Calgary‟s Olli Jokinen said.

Daily Herald Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485523 Chicago Blackhawks

How the Hawks fared against the Canucks

By Mike Spellman | Daily Herald Staff

Published: 4/28/2009 4:52 PM

During the NHL regular season, the Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks split their four-game series. Here‟s a glance at how each team picked up two victories:

Oct. 19, 2008, at Chicago Blackhawks 4, Canucks 2

Summary: Patrick Sharp had 2 goals and an assist, Patrick Kane added a goal and an assist and goalie Cristobal Huet made 28 saves as Joel Quenneville picked up his first victory behind the Blackhawks‟ bench.

Three stars: Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Cristobal Huet

Quote: “I didn‟t realize how much it affected him when all that stuff went on. Obviously, it‟s something that motivated him and we‟re reaping the benefits,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews on the hot play of Patrick Kane following the firing of coach Denis Savard.

Dec. 20, 2008, at Vancouver Blackhawks 3, Canucks 1

Summary: Cristobal Huet made 30 saves and Patrick Sharp scored the game-winner as the Blackhawks rolled to their seventh straight victory. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews also scored for the Hawks.

Three stars: Cristobal Huet, Curtis Sanford, Andrew Ladd

Quote: “We aren‟t to far ahead of ourselves, but we are having fun. The playoffs are our goal but we‟re learning how to win games right now,” said Patrick Sharp.

Feb. 7, at Vancouver Canucks 7, Blackhawks 3

Summary: Alex Edler had a goal and 3 assists and the Canucks took it to the Blackhawks on the power play, converting on 4 of 8 chances with the man advantage to roll past the Hawks. Cristobal Huet made 6 saves in the first period before giving way to Nikolai Khabibulin.

Three stars: Alex Edler, Ryan Kesler, Mats Sundin

Quote: “It‟s hard to put your finger on one thing. Sometimes there are just lucky bounces,” said Vancouver‟s Mats Sundin.

March 29, at Chicago Canucks 4, Blackhawks 0

Summary: Daniel Sedin had 2 goals and an assist while his brother Henrik dished out 3 assists in a victory that pulled Vancouver even with the Blackhawks with 91 points in the battle for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Three stars: Alexandre Burrows, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Johnson

Quote: “We‟re a good team, but not good enough to go out and give a half effort,” said Hawks captain Jonathan Toews.

Daily Herald Times LOADED 04.29.2009

485524 Chicago Blackhawks

Hawks playoff tickets go on sale Monday

Daily Herald News Services

Published: 4/28/2009 1:46 PM

Single-game tickets for potential Chicago Blackhawks home games in the 2009 Western Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final (Rounds 3 and 4) will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday.

Fans can purchase tickets at the United Center Box Office (1901 W. Madison in Chicago), The Blackhawks Store (333 N. Michigan in Chicago) or by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, calling (800) 745-3000 or by logging on to chicagoblackhawks.com.

The Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-games-to-2, in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, marking the franchise‟s first postseason series victory since 1996. The Hawks will face off against the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Semifinals, with dates and times to be determined.

Each customer will be limited to eight total tickets with no more than four for one game. Refunds for any un-played playoff games will be available at the point of purchase.

Daily Herald Times LOADED 04.29.2009