Luongo rebounds and so do Canucks with 4-1 win

Apparently the Blackhawks would prefer to do this the hard way.

Riding the momentum of an early goal by goalie Antti Niemi, the Vancouver Canucks put off elimination and spoiled what the Hawks and their fans had hoped would be a series-clinching party at the United Center with a convincing 4-1 victory Sunday night.

Instead of making it easy on themselves, the Hawks must travel back to Vancouver for Game 6 on Tuesday night still ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.

"They did some good things and they played a good game," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "If you look over the course of the game, they deserved to win that one. We only have ourselves to blame.

"We have to have a bigger and better start and not give them that lead because they did a good job protecting it."

The big United Center crowd was silenced 59 seconds into the game when Niemi failed to glove Christian Ehrhoff's slap shot from the right point through a partial screen.

The goal came off a faceoff that resulted from Kris Versteeg icing the puck from his own zone when he was under no pressure.

Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa scored the first of his 2 goals at 14:24 of the first period when he found a seam in the Hawks' defense and beat Dave Bolland to the net for the shot past a sprawling Niemi.

"I think it was a case of we were just slow making plays," Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell said. "We were a step behind the whole night for some reason. We definitely didn't get the job done."

Bieksa scored again 13 minutes into the second period on a power play with Dustin Byfuglien serving a slashing penalty.

The penalty to Byfuglien came less than a minute after referees Kevin Pollock and Brad Watson missed Byfuglien accidentally high-sticking Shane O'Brien as he followed through on a shot.

O'Brien was cut but didn't miss a shift. The Canucks did lose defenseman Sami Salo at the end of the first period when he was struck in the groin area by a Duncan Keith shot and left the UC on a stretcher.

"We didn't capitalize on our power play and we took way too many penalties," Campbell said. "They won that battle. We came on a little in the third period, but we didn't put enough pressure on them in the first and second."

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, coming off two poor games in Vancouver, was solid in a 29-save performance. There were no rebounds this time and his teammates did a better job of keeping the Hawks away from the crease area.

"That's because we didn't have the necessary traffic and enough pucks," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

"I was fighting to see through traffic and gobbling them up," Luongo said. "They were sticking to me."

Toews wasn't surprised that Luongo was able to play better.

"Maybe he hasn't played his best hockey in this series, but we're going to expect another big performance from him in the next game as well," Toews said. "We're going to have to work harder than we did tonight for those second opportunities."

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault challenged Luongo verbally following Game 4, when he called him the second-best goaltender in the series to that point.

Not only was Luongo sharper, the Canucks were the more disciplined team this time than in their 2 losses in Vancouver.

"Last game we did some uncharacteristic things; we're not a team that self-destructs like that," Bieksa said.

"In the two games in Vancouver, obviously, our emotions in some situations got the best of us," Vigneault said. "We've got a smart group, but we might not have shown it the proper way in those two games.

"Tonight we did, and we have another opportunity to continue."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>

<p class="breakhead">Three stars</p>

<p class="News"><b>1. Kevin Bieksa, Canucks:</b> Two goals, an assist and 4 blocked shots in 27 minutes on defense.</p>

<p class="News"><b>2. Roberto Luongo, Canucks:</b> Big bounce-back game with 29 saves.</p>

<p class="News"><b>3. Jonathan Toews, Hawks:</b> Scored the only goal and won 11 of 19 faceoffs.</p>

<p class="breakhead">Quick on the draw</p>

<p class="News">The Canucks won 58 percent of the faceoffs; Ryan Johnson was 8-1 while the Hawks' Dave Bolland was 2-11.</p>

<p class="breakhead">The quote</p>

<p class="News">"If you look over the course of the game, they deserved to win that one. We only have ourselves to blame." - Hawks captain Jonathan Toews</p>

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<h1>More Coverage</h1>

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<h2>Stories</h2>

<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=379554">Byfuglien no factor in Game 5 <span class="date">[5/9/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=379553">Hawks go back in time: Game 5 looks a lot like Game 1 <span class="date">[5/9/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=379549">With 'chips on the line,' Vancouver refuses to bust <span class="date">[5/9/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=379541">Tallon gets vote for GM award <span class="date">[5/9/10]</span></a></li>

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<h2>Photo Galleries</h2>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=379556">Images of Hawks vs. Canucks, Game 5 </a></li>

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