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Hawks Drop the Hammer on the Canucks in Game 6

Written by: EricC on 12th May 2010

It was a pretty intense series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks, but in the end, Chicago came out on top. The Hawks repeated history, taking out the Canucks in game six of the second round of the playoffs, just like last season. The Hawks advance to the Western Conference Finals to take on the San Jose Sharks; unfortunately, the Sharks were the only team in the West with a better seeding than the Hawks. However, that’s alright, because the Blackhawks seems to be on fire when on the road.

Two sets of back-to-back goals was one of the factors that gave Chicago the upper-hand in this game. 25 shots were exchanged in the first period, but neither team was able to put anything in. Then, exactly two minutes into the second period, Troy Brouwer netted his first goal of the Post Season. Only 36 seconds later, Kris Versteeg had an unassisted goal, giving the Hawks a two goal lead in a matter of seconds. Then, in the final seconds of the period, while Short Handed, Dave Bolland stole the puck away at center ice, making it 3-0.

Early in the third period, Vancouver put in their first. The Hawks still held a two goal lead, but there was still plenty of time for the Canucks to steal the game; luckily, this was not the case. In the eighth minute, Patrick Kane got his first goal in the last four games, giving him seven total for the Post Season. Jonathan Toews’ assist on Kane’s goal gave him his 20th point of the Post Season, putting him at the top of the NHL Leaderboard. Less than half a minute later, Dustin Byfuglien put this one away with his fourth goal of the Post Season.

Antti Niemi has had good games and bad games in the Post Season; luckily, this was one of his good games. Actually, it was more of a spectacular game, making 29 saves and nearly grabbing a Shut Out. The young goaltender now has eight Playoff Wins under his belt, and is only eight away from adding a Stanley Cup victory to his resume.

While the Hawks know their next opponent will be the San Jose Sharks, and that they will be starting this series in San Jose, a date has not been set yet. The Eastern Conference is close to settling their games, and once they do, a schedule should be released.