Hawks resume rivalry with Canucks with a win

Posted November 22, 2009 10:00 pm

By Tim Sassone

If the Red Wings are the Blackhawks' biggest rival, then the Vancouver Canucks aren't far behind.

First there was last spring's grueling playoff series, which the Hawks won in six games. Then there was Willie Mitchell's big hit on Jonathan Toews last month at the United Center that, while deemed clean, angered the Hawks.

That's how a rivalry starts.

After impressive wins at Calgary and Edmonton to start their six-game road trip, the Hawks were put to a test by a better defensive team Sunday night in the Canucks.

Antti Niemi was the difference in goal as the Hawks won 1-0 to stretch their winning streak to seven games.

It was scoreless after two periods thanks to the play of Niemi, who was sharp in his first start since Nov. 6 at Colorado.

The Hawks got their only goal at 1:12 of the third period when Bryan Bickell poked a rebound past goalie Roberto Luongo with assists from Brian Campbell and Toews.

Niemi was huge in the second period with his best saves coming late. He robbed Steve Bernier busting out of the penalty box at 16:14 then smothered a shot by Mason Raymond moments later.

The Hawks couldn't get many quality shots on Luongo with only 13 shots on goal through the first two periods.

The only tough save Luongo needed to make in the second period was on Patrick Kane's backhander just past the midway point. The Hawks were trying to keep the momentum on the power play but didn't get an opportunity in the first two periods.

"Our power play has been good over the last five or six games," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We're seeing some nice trends and hopefully that can ignite our whole offense."

There was no payback to Mitchell, which was expected after the Hawks said the best revenge would be to grab a victory.

Mitchell told reporters at Sunday's morning skate that he didn't expect anything to happen and that he had spoken with Toews in the days after the Oct. 21 hit that knocked the Hawks captain out of the lineup for six games with a concussion.

"It's just hockey," Mitchell said. "It was on the ice. It was a clean hit. Ask Jon, he'll tell you that, too."

Bickell was back in the Hawks' lineup after leaving Saturday's win at Edmonton when he struck his head on the ice following a collision with Dustin Penner.

The goal was the first of the season for Bickell, who has impressed in his three recalls from Rockford.

Tim Sassone's game tracker Three stars 1. Antti Niemi, Hawks: Spectacular 30-save performance for the goalie's second shutout of the season. 2. Bryan Bickell, Hawks: Scored the game's only goal early in the third period. 3. Brian Campbell, Hawks: Assisted on Bickell's goal and was solid in all three zones. Key stat The Hawks have allowed only 11 goals in their seven-game winning streak. Trip planner After a 3-0 sweep of Western Canada, the Hawks head to California for the final three games of their road trip against San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.

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