Hawks get set for Canucks' potent offense, animosity

Winning their second-round playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks could come down to three things for the Blackhawks.

Can shutdown defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and various Hawks forwards contain Henrik and Daniel Sedin by being physical with them?

Can Antti Niemi outplay Roberto Luongo in goal?

And can the Hawks stay disciplined and turn the other cheek when Vancouver pot stirrers such as Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Shane O'Brien and Rick Rypien start doing what they do after whistles?

The Hawks accomplished all three things last spring in the second round when they dispatched the Canucks in six games, although then it was goalie Nikolai Khabibulin outplaying Luongo.

Henrik Sedin led the NHL in scoring with 112 points (83 of them assists), and is the key to a Vancouver offense that led the Western Conference with 272 goals, 1 more than the Hawks.

Sedin centers a line for his identical twin brother Daniel and Mikael Samuelsson, who was moved to the top line in the first round against Los Angeles.

"He's the leading scorer in the league and he makes big plays," Keith said. "It's a challenge. They're going to be moving the puck around, and we're going to have to talk out there as a group of five."

The Canucks had six players score 25 goals or more, led by Burrows' 35 and Samuelsson's 30. The Sedins each scored 29 goals.

"They're a top-scoring team in the league and the Sedins are as good as anybody in the game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Their puck possession, their threat off the rush with their defense, there's a lot of things you've got to be aware of."

The Hawks and Canucks certainly have a history of bad blood that started last season and continued into the playoffs and through this season.

It began last season with the brawl at the United Center during which Burrows pulled Keith's hair.

There was Andrew Ladd's crushing hit on Kesler in the playoffs that broke the nose of the Canucks center. The two fought this season with Ladd ending the brief bout with one punch, after which Kesler called the Hawks winger a coward.

And last October it was Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell laying out Jonathan Toews with a blindside hit at the UC that knocked the Hawks captain out of the lineup for six games with a concussion.

Mitchell, ironically, likely will miss the series with a concussion of his own.

"Every time we play them it seems like there's a lot going on," Keith said.

"I'm sure it won't take long to rekindle the animosity," Quenneville said. "When you play a playoff series with a team, that's where it starts."

The Canucks will certainly try to goad the Hawks into penalties, but Quenneville said there can't be retaliation from his team.

"The rivalries and intensity and emotions are in place, but at the same time in the playoffs you've got to have composure and discipline and stay smart," Quenneville said. "The focus is to win the game and win your shifts, and retaliation is not going to be successful.

"They're a dangerous team in a lot of ways, but let's be smart."

Several Canucks have said they've waited a year to get another crack at the Hawks in the playoffs, which is just fine with Patrick Sharp and his teammates.

"It was a lot of fun last year in the playoffs and the regular season games have been pretty intense since then," Patrick Sharp said. "We're looking forward to it."

"It's fun playing those guys," Keith said. "Obviously, they have a good team with a little bit of everything. I'm sure they've got that taste in their mouth from last year. We know that so we've got to be ready from the start."

Niemi is coming off a strong first-ever playoff series against Nashville, in which 2 of his 4 wins were shutouts, but the bar now is raised with Luongo at the other end instead of Pekka Rinne.

"Antti was big in the series, very consistent and big in the net," Quenneville said. "He really helped solidify our penalty killing."

Luongo struggled early in Vancouver's first-round series against Los Angeles, but he was the difference in Game 5 and 6 wins for the Canucks.

Both goalies can expect to have a lot of company in the crease area with persistent net crashing.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=376466">Hawks know they must step up physical play vs. Canucks<span class="date">[4/27/10]</span></a></li>

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