Hawks know road to San Jose goes through Vancouver

The Blackhawks didn't pack light when they left for Vancouver on Monday afternoon.

That's because if they win Game 6 Tuesday night at GM Place and eliminate the Canucks it's straight to San Jose to open the Western Conference finals later this week.

A second straight loss would force Game 7 with Vancouver back at the United Center on Thursday night.

"It's the playoffs and you never know what's gong to happen, so you pack as if you're going to win and that's what we expect to do," Hawks winger Kris Versteeg said. "We expect to win."

The Hawks know the way to San Jose, and it starts with a better effort from top to bottom than they put forth in Sunday's 4-1 loss in Game 5, when they blew a golden opportunity to put the Canucks away.

It wasn't the first time the Hawks played a clunker in the playoffs, but each time they have against Nashville and Vancouver, they responded with a victory.

"We're a team that has always found a way through adversity," Versteeg said. "We all believe in each other and that's when we generally play our best.

"There's no panic here or nothing like that, but there's a sense of urgency when need be, and I think that's what we have next game. We need to play harder than we did last game. The effort was there, but we were a step or two behind."

The combination of the Hawks being flat and the Canucks clogging the ice defensively after taking a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into Game 5 led to a long and disappointing night.

"We couldn't complete a 10-foot pass," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

Perhaps too eager to celebrate in front of their rabid fans, the Hawks abandoned the simple game they used in Game 3 and Game 4 wins in Vancouver and tried to make plays that weren't there.

"They were more patient than they we were," Quenneville said. "Our puck possession and puck moving game was almost non-existent, so we have to do a better job managing the puck.

"I thought in Games 3 and 4 we did a lot of good things and had everything going our own way, and maybe we thought we were just going to continue on that path, but nothing's easy and it's always a long battle. You get tested in each and every series and this could wake us up here to know that we have to be at our best to be successful. Last night (Sunday) we weren't."

The Canucks would like to think all the pressure is on the Hawks to close out the series after being up 3-1, and there might be something to that.

"I think that's not a bad thing," Quenneville said. "Certainly it was a get-our-attention type of game and we have to rebound off the effort."

The loss for the Hawks on Sunday was the first time in four tries over the last two playoff years they failed to close out a series when they had a chance.

"The biggest thing is to play like we did in Games 3 and 4 on the road," Patrick Kane said. "Those were great road games. We stayed disciplined and let them take the penalties and capitalized on special teams. I think (Sunday) we took too many penalties.

"I know on the road you tend to play a smarter and simpler game, and hopefully that's what we do."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=379803">Kane, Hawks look to keep Luongo busy in Game 6<span class="date"> [5/10/10]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=379801">Canucks likely will have to go without Salo in Game 6<span class="date"> [5/10/10]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=379795"><b>MURRAY:</b> No answer as to why teams are having success on road<span class="date"> [5/10/10]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>