2011 NHL Playoffs: Can the Canucks Best the Blackhawks in a Crucial Game 3?

The Blackhawks tried to elevate their play in Game 2, but the Canucks pushed back, and now have a 2-0 series lead.

The defining moment of Game 2 came on the opening shift. Patrick Kane apparently took to heart the sports cliche of putting the last game behind you, totally forgetting about the physical beating the Canucks laid on him in Game 1.

Kane took the puck and tried to steam up the wing with his head down, and was absolutely buried by Alex Edler just 14 seconds into the first period.

The Canucks got the puck, Edler recorded his first of four hits on the night and Kane picked himself off the ice with blood on his jersey. That set the tone for the evening, and by the end the Canucks survived some self-inflicted wounds to persevere 4-3.

But the past is the past.

Now the Canucks need to leave Vancouver and travel to Chicago for Games 3 and 4.

Luckily the United Center hasn't been a total wasteland for the Canucks, as they won two out of three games there in last year's playoff series, and split a pair of decisions in Chicago during the regular season.

And being the visiting team shouldn't be such a factor when coach Alain Vigneault is basically rolling all four lines and three defence pairings anyway. The Canucks don't really have a pairing or line that they need to worry about being exploited defensively.

The Canucks are getting reinforcements as well. Mikael Samuelsson (flu) and Raffi Torres (suspension) will be available to dress for Game 3, although they both might not make it into the lineup since the team is doing well. But they represent a lot of playoff experience (three trips to the Finals and a Cup between them) as well as secondary scoring. And Torres knows how to take the body, a tactic which has been serving Vancouver well.

The Blackhawks on the other hand are losing bodies they can ill afford to lose.

Dave Bolland is still out with a concussion, and given the description of his symptoms I'd be surprised if he dressed for a game anytime before September. Tomas Kopecky is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury, and Bryan Bickell is listed as day to day as well after suffering a wrist injury during the late stages of Game 2.

The keys for the Canucks in the first two games boiled down to physical play and being disciplined.

The 'Hawks aren't getting any space or time to skate, especially the stars. The Edler hit was just foreshadowing for Kane. Whenever he got the puck, Kane had a Canuck skater either angling him to the boards, or simply trying to put him through the boards. Same goes for Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp. 

Through two games, the 'Hawks star forwards (Toews, Sharp, Kane and Hossa) are a combined minus-six and have a single assist. The big three on defence (Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook) are a combined minus-seven with a single assist in that span.

You can read the frustration in their faces, as they get double-shifted only to come up empty while taking hit after hit. Or see how the frustration boiled over for Sharp as he took a penalty in retaliation, which the Canucks then scored on. 

Discipline is a huge factor when you consider that, while the Canucks lead the NHL in hits with 92 (Chicago has 61), they are good clean hits. (OK, Chicago fans might disagree on that)

This is crucial because, while the 'Hawks have been inept at the power play so far in the series, the Canucks don't want to tempt fate by giving them more chances than necessary.

So far the Canucks have taken a pair of interference penalties for running picks, and the Sedins have picked up a pair of lazy penalties for slashing and hooking.

The only penalty even remotely related to the physical play is Dan Hamhuis taking a roughing penalty in the dying seconds of Game 1. But the Canucks were up 2-0 with the clock running out, and he was delivering a message to Patrick Kane with a few gloved punches to the face and then pushing him to the ice. Chalk that one up to good old-fashioned playoff intimidation.

The Canucks amazingly have yet to take a penalty due to one of those 92 hits. Hopefully they can keep that trend up in Game 3.

They will also have to survive an early push from the Blackhawks. The 'Hawks are at home, they know they got steamrolled early in both games in Vancouver and they know they can't afford to go down 3-0 in the series.

Expect the 'Hawks to come out flying, trying to hit everything and trying desperately to make some offense happen. 

If the Canucks can hammer them back and not give up a goal in the first 10 minutes or so, I think the 'Hawks are in for another long night.

This time, unlike last year, the Canucks can be the team getting in their opponents' heads and throwing them off their game mentally.

The Canucks have all the momentum and confidence right now. Let's hope they don't squander it in Game 3.