Blackhawks-Canucks rivalry getting a little nasty

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Circle March 5 on your Blackhawks schedule.

That's when the Hawks and the Canucks play for the final time this regular season at the United Center in what is becoming a rivalry approaching or even surpassing the Hawks and Detroit.

Each team left Saturday's 5-1 win by the Canucks at GM Place with hard feelings.

The Hawks were angry about Christian Ehrhoff's cross-check of Jonathan Toews in the second period. And defenseman Brent Sopel walked through the dressing room cussing Mason Raymond for drilling him into the boards from behind on an icing.

On the Canucks' side, Ryan Kesler was yapping, calling Hawks winger Andrew Ladd a coward in the aftermath of their first-period fight that saw Ladd pop Kesler in the face, leaving a cut under the eye.

Kesler still is angry from a hit Ladd laid on him last spring in the playoffs.

"He's a coward; he'll always be a coward," Kesler told reporters after the game. "At least he was man enough to hit me when I was looking this time. He cross checked me in the face and broke my nose when I wasn't looking."

The Hawks had the day off Sunday, so a response from Ladd will have to wait until after Monday's practice.

"We don't like those guys very much," Canucks defenseman Shane O'Brien said.

You can be sure the feeling is mutual.

The Hawks still haven't forgotten the hit Vancouver defenseman Willie Mitchell laid on Toews in October, knocking the captain out of the lineup for six games with a concussion.

While it's still being debated whether the hit was clean, with Mitchell coming out of the penalty box and catching Toews with his head down, some Hawks believe Mitchell could have avoided catching Toews in the head.

Mitchell didn't play Saturday because of an injury.

Nastiness aside, the Hawks didn't play well enough to win Saturday and are left with a 3-2 record on their eight-game road trip that moves to Edmonton on Tuesday.

"Our record's still half decent, but we know it's not just winning games, it's about how we play, and (Saturday) wasn't satisfying," Toews said.

If the Hawks are getting road weary they aren't going to talk about it.

"We knew this road trip was coming along," Toews said. "We knew what it was going to be like, being away from home for a long time, so there's no excuse there."

The game in Edmonton suddenly has turned important. A win would guarantee the Hawks at least a .500 trip while a loss would set up the possibility of a sub-.500 trip and games remaining at San Jose on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday with only one day of rest and a six-hour plane ride in between.

"We've got three more games on the road and we just have to face it," Marian Hossa said. "It's going to be tough. Teams are going to be ready for us and we have to respond."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville thought the game against the Canucks reminded him of the lethargic 4-1 loss Tuesday at Ottawa.

"We have to get excited about Tuesday's game," Quenneville said. "It's a long trip and we had some momentum going after last game (at Calgary). We're disappointed in (Saturday's) game, but let's get it back going."