Game 1 difference? 'Looie' better

Without touching United Center ice Sunday, Vancouver forward Daniel Sedin needed less than 10 minutes to net a hat trick.

Checked against a concrete wall by insight-hungry media outside the Canucks locker room, Sedin offered the same phrase three times in a short span as his explanation for the Hawks' resounding 5-1 loss in Game 1.

He first lit the lamp at the 1:54 p.m. mark (Chicago time) Sunday.

"If you look at the game, if you look at chances for and against," Sedin said, "I think 'Looie' outplayed their goalie and that's the bottom line."

"Looie," of course, is Olympic gold-medal winning goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Faced with a question about a different matter, Sedin turned it around and tallied his second matter-of-fact statement at 2 p.m.

" 'Looie' outplayed their goalie. That was the bottom line," he said.

"I think 'Looie' is a big part of our team. If he can do that, I think we have another good chance (to win)."

We won't waste time listing Sedin's third shout-out to Luongo.

Instead, we'll ask the obvious question.

If this Western Conference semifinals series is all about the goalies, can Antti Niemi raise his play to Luongo's level?

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville seems to think there's no question.

He said "Niemi - no doubt," when asked to identify his Game 2 goalie.

"He's played very well for us down the stretch," Quenneville said.

"We like the way he played consecutive games - got on a nice roll there. Played a very good series against Nashville and was fine (Saturday) night.

"I think it was easy to make a change going into the third period to get him rested and get him excited."

Yet it seems clear the Canucks aren't worried whether Niemi is rested and excited for Game 2 on Monday.

Think back to Vancouver's momentous goal in the final seconds of Game 1's first period.

While Hawks defenseman Brent Sopel blamed himself for his misread pass that led to Ryan Kesler's takeaway and sharp-angled shot from the boards, Niemi allowed the long rebound that bounded into the slot.

Vancouver forward Mason Raymond, who had just climbed on the ice, blasted the rebound over Niemi's right shoulder.

"It was laying on a tee there and I was able to get a good shot off," Raymond said.

Ah, there's a crucial issue going forward. Sedin claimed the Canucks received a few lucky bounces, but Niemi can't afford to allow bounces lucky or otherwise.

"I think (goalie coach Stephane Waite) and him are visiting with the game a little bit technically," Quenneville said.

"I just think he's really focused on what he has to do to be successful as a goalie - and moving forward has never been an issue."

Now it's a matter of moving his teammates the way Luongo inspired the Canucks early in Game 1 when he turned away Patrick Kane's breakaway.

"It's huge for a team's psyche," said Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault. "This is a game of mistakes and there are mistakes made out there. When you make a mistake and your goalie bails you out, it's huge for the confidence and the momentum.

"Without a doubt it has an effect throughout the group. When the players know that, if they make a mistake, the guy in goal has a good chance of bailing them out, that's huge."