Vigneault at loss to explain fast starts

Just like the Blackhawks, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault is stumped.

He can't figure out why his team has jumped out to early leads in all three games of the Western Conference semifinals, but he's not complaining, seeing how the Canucks have turned those early leads into a 2-1 series advantage heading into Game 4 tonight at the United Center.

"I can't," Vigneault responded when asked to explain the phenomenon. "I don't know if it's a case of us being ready and them not being ready.

"We know starts are important. There's a stat that says the team that does get the first goal wins most of the games, so we'll try to get ready and do the same thing (Thursday)."

One step at a time: A day after returning to the lineup for the first time since his fiancee died in a traffic accident just over a month ago, Vancouver winger Taylor Pyatt discussed his long route back to the Canucks.

"For the first couple of days I wasn't even sure if I'd even get back on skates this season," Pyatt said. "But as time sort of passed by and a couple of weeks went by, I felt the urge to get back on the team and back on the ice ... and I was able to get back in the lineup."

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault handled the situation delicately, initially only calling Pyatt every other day to check in.

"I did think it was important for him to get back here even though he was going through that situation," Vigneault said. "I thought he had to get back here around his teammates and get his life moving forward."

Salo iffy: Injured defenseman Sami Salo arrived at the United Center on Wednesday and did some off-ice work, but that's certainly no guarantee he will be back in the lineup tonight for Game 4.

"We felt it was better to stay back home and do a little treatment," Salo said. "There is always a chance for anything, but we'll see how it is tomorrow and go from there.

"We'll have to make the decision but not until tomorrow."

A good loss? According to Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, dropping Game 2 on home ice just might have been the difference in Tuesday's 3-1 drubbing of the Blackhawks.

"Losing Game 2 is what got us all going," Luongo said. "It was a tough one to lose at home and we had to respond as a team.

"We all upped our game and it made my job a lot easier."