Short-handed goals go a long way for Hawks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The Blackhawks have picked up in the playoffs where they left off in the regular season as far as being the most dangerous team in the NHL offensively while short-handed.

Patrick Sharp's short-handed goal in Game 2 was the Hawks' second of the playoffs after they led the league with 13 during the regular season.

If it seems as if the Hawks are looking to pounce on any mistake for a chance to go the other way, it's because they are.

"I think we look for chances, I know I look for them," Sharp said. "You don't want to cheat out there. The objective is to clear the puck and to kill the two minutes, but if there's an opportunity to go, I'm certainly looking to jump."

Going into Game 3 on Wednesday the Hawks had allowed only 3 power-play goals in the playoffs in 36 short-handed situations.

The Canucks were 2-for-10 in the first two games.

"It seemed (in Game 2) we wanted to keep the puck to the outside," Vancouver's Henrik Sedin said. "Sometimes that's when they get chances the other way."

Burish vs. O'Brien: Adam Burish didn't take offense to Canucks defenseman Shane O'Brien saying the Hawks put their "meat" in the lineup for Game 2, referring to Burish and Ben Eager.

"I guess you could say we're meat," Burish said. "I think he's 260 pounds, so I'm not that heavy. I know what he meant; you put a couple physical guys back in the lineup. You want to call me meat, great."

O'Brien sounded Wednesday as if he is tired of talking about Burish.

"Maybe I should have called him weasel or rat, maybe meat wasn't the right things to say," O'Brien said. "But I wasn't giving him a compliment, that's for sure."

Got any extras? With five British Columbia boys on the Hawks' roster, tickets for the games here were tough even for the players to get.

Andrew Ladd, who is from suburban Maple Ridge, managed to get 20 for Wednesday's game for his family and friends.

"I probably have the most tickets because the other guys are too cheap to pay for them," Ladd joked. "At least 20 people will be cheering for us."

Better conditions: Players from both teams were happy to be on the great ice at GM Place instead of the chippy surface at the United Center.

"It's nice to come back here," Duncan Keith said. "They've got good ice here. It's nice to skate on."