Blackhawks at a pivotal point in quest for Stanley Cup

For the second time in these Stanley Cup playoffs, the Blackhawks have arrived at a crossroads game.

Beat the Vancouver Canucks tonight at the United Center in Game 4, and the Western Conference semifinals would be up for grabs, tied at 2-2. A loss, however, would put the Hawk down 3-1 in the best-for-seven series and leave their chances of winning it quite slim.

But the Hawks have answered the bell before.

In the first round against Calgary, after winning the opening two games, the Hawks lost Games 3 and 4 on the road only to return home to the UC and take the pivotal Game 5 in convincing fashion 5-1 before going on to advance.

"Now it's a seesaw battle," Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell said. "It goes back and forth a lot in the playoffs; things run hot and then you're down. We've got to find a way to get the momentum back."

The Hawks think they must simplify their game as the Canucks did in Tuesday's 3-1 win in Game 3, when Vancouver played nearly a flawless road game.

The Canucks got the first goal, then put the clamps down defensively the rest of the way while building their lead to 3-0. The Hawks tried to finesse their way into the Vancouver zone time and time again instead of chipping the puck behind the Canucks' defense and working to get it back.

"I think it was just trying to do too much," Adam Burish said. "In our meeting (Wednesday), that's what we talked about. You can't force plays against these guys, and they played a heck of a road game. They played simple.

"They sat back and just waited for us to make mistakes, and we kind of played into their game. We tried to make pretty plays. We turned the puck over in the offensive zone a lot and that feeds into what they are trying to do."

The Hawks admitted they were sluggish in their Game 3 loss for whatever reasons.

"For some reason we didn't have any legs, it seemed like," Burish said. "We weren't playing our up-pace style that we normally do when we're successful. I don't know what it was."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wondered where the speed went.

"I don't think we had much speed in our game," Quenneville said. "I think that was the one noticeable ingredient that wasn't there. We are so much more efficient when we are on people and coming through the neutral zone at more speed, but we didn't get up to that speed we are accustomed to and makes us effective."

The Hawks can't keep falling behind by 2 and 3 goals like they have in the first three games of the series.

"As the playoffs go on, it's harder and harder to come back from those deficits," Ben Eager said. "Hopefully we can start with the lead.

"I don't think anyone is happy with how we played (Tuesday). We played a bad game and we're looking for a much greater effort (today). It's going to be a long series, a close one."

The Canucks might have defenseman Sami Salo back in the lineup after he missed Game 3 and most of Game 2 with an undisclosed injury. Salo worked out at the UC Wednesday, but he didn't skate.

Even without Salo, the Canucks held the Hawks to just 24 shots on goal.

"We weren't a threat in any area," Quenneville said.

Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks at the United Center, 7 p.m.

TV: Versus

Radio: WGN 720-AM

At a glance: It's advantage Vancouver now. The Canucks lead the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series 2-1 and can put the Hawks on the brink of elimination with another win tonight. The Hawks say a strong start is a must. So is putting more quality shots on Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, who had a relatively easy time of it in Tuesday's 3-1 win in Game 3.

Next: Game 5 at GM Place, 9:30 p.m. Saturday

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