It was bound to show its ugly head at some point. After last night's shellacking of the Edmonton Oilers, tonight's game had the makings of a trap game; 3 games in 4 nights, plus a couple of days off before the next game. In the end, the Hawks simply ran out of gas as the game ran on, and the Canucks ran away with the 4-1 win.
Jannik Hansen opened up the scoring in the 1st period for the Canucks, just as a Kris Versteeg penalty had expired. Despite Versteeg taking the penalty, it was one you don't mind seeing someone take, as he was sticking up for a teammate after Luca Sbisa drilled Patrick Kane in the corner.
The second period saw our favorite, wait most criticized player, Kris Versteeg net a power play goal to tie the game at 1. Hang on while I continually punch myself in the face. Of the 2 power plays the Hawks had in the second, this was the only one they would score on, and at the end of the 2nd period the game was tied at 1.
As the game went on the Canucks took over. The fatigue of the Blackhawks showed in the 3rd period, as the Canucks scored 3 times, to take a 4-1 win. Jannik Hansen completed the hat trick with an empty netter, and Radim Vrbata also tallied the 3rd Vancouver goal.
The Good
- Corey Crawford gave the Blackhawks a chance to win this game. More power to him consider he was playing his 11th consecutive game.
- Kris Versteeg hot streak continued, as he provided the lone tally for the Blackhawks.
The Bad
- Adam Clendening certainly came back down to earth tonight. A bad delay of game penalty, coupled with bad defensive positioning (that led to Vancouver's 2nd goal) proved that he is human, and a work in progress.
- The inconsistent power play continued tonight as well. The Blackhawks were 1 of 4, and didn't look good on some of those opportunities.
- The hit on Patrick Kane. I didn't have a problem with the hit by Sbisa, nor did I have a problem with Versteeg's response. The biggest problem I had is Kane putting himself in that position to potentially be injured by turning towards the boards.
The Ugly
- It wasn't the best night for some of the Blackhawks leaders. Toews was a -4, while Hossa and Seabrook were -3, and Keith was a -2. Over the course of a season, games like this are bound to happen.
- Watching someone like Jannik Hansen score a hat trick was vomit inducing.
- The Blackhawks were just about dominated at the face off dot tonight, 36 to 27.
- Someone please inform the Vancouver Green Men that their act is old, tiresome, and boring. Its run its course guys, come up with new material.