Blackhawks And Canucks Start Next Chapter Of Rivalry
VANCOUVER (AP) -- You don't have to go very far back to find the history between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks, recently it seems these teams always find themselves squaring off in the playoffs.
The past three seasons alone have included everything from hair pulling to body slams, name calling to calling out. Most important to any good NHL rivalry, the past two years it ended with Chicago knocking the Canucks out of the playoffs.
With a history like that, you'd think it would be easy to get players talking about each other before their first-round series kicks off Wednesday in Vancouver. Think again.
"You don't really need any more story lines," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who earlier this season accused Chicago counterpart Joel Quenneville of running up the score in a 7-1 November romp.
"Do you want me to do like that Jets coach here: 'it's between me and Quenneville?' No, there's a tremendous amount of story lines because of the history between both of these teams."
For all the bitter history, the focus going into the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series was how much these two teams have changed since last season.
Chicago went on to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating Vancouver in six games in the second round for a second straight season.
But the Blackhawks were forced to shed 11 players to stay under the salary cap, including several key Canucks' antagonists, and needed help from Minnesota beating Dallas in the final game of the season Sunday just to make it back into the playoffs.
Meanwhile the Canucks, in part because of improvements made after losing again to Chicago, set franchise records for points (117) and wins (54) and became the first team since the 1977-78 Canadiens to lead the league in goals for and against while winning the Presidents' Trophy.
Listening to them talk about each other, you'd think each team was running the other's fan club.
The only disagreement was which team was the favorite.
"We're certainly underdogs in this series," Quenneville said.
Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo didn't sound quite as certain.
"Far as I know they're still Stanley Cup champs," he said.
Maybe so, but these are not the same Blackhawks that hoisted the Cup. Gone are goalie Antti Niemi and forward Andrew Ladd, who was once called a "coward" by Canucks center Ryan Kesler.
Big-bodied forward Dustin Byfuglien, who made life miserable in Luongo's crease, was traded, as was Kris Versteeg, who scored two game-winning goals in the last playoff series.
"They still have (Jonathan) Toews, (Patrick) Kane, (Duncan) Keith, and (Brent) Seabrook," Luongo said. "That's a dangerous team. They know how to win."
Especially in Vancouver, where the Canucks also host Game 2 on Friday before the series shifts to Chicago for Games 3 and 4. The Blackhawks won all three games in Vancouver last postseason, including a conclusive 5-1 victory in Game 6, and have a 5-1 record here the past two playoffs.
"Any mental edge would be thrown out the window the way the years have gone," Kane said. "But you always hope you have a mental edge and hope you are in the back of their minds that what happened wasn't a fluke and could happen again."
The Canucks say they learned from the losses, especially handing Chicago a run of power plays with undisciplined penalties in Games 3 and 4. They made changes to personnel, strengthening their defensive depth and adding grit up front. But the biggest adjustment was to their personality.
Just as they refused to repeat last season's talk about wanting to play Chicago and being eager for redemption, the players, led by former agitators Kesler and Alex Burrows, made a conscious effort to reduce trash talk to opponents and officials, something they learned from the Blackhawks.
"If you learn from the past there's a good chance the future will be different," Vigneault said. "We've proven a lot of things during the regular season and now it's our turn to try and prove it in the playoffs."
Notes: Chicago F Troy Brouwer and C Dave Bolland practiced Tuesday, and Brouwer said he's ready to return from a shoulder injury. But Bolland, who was so effective against Canucks' leading scorers Daniel and Henrik Sedin last playoffs, still isn't cleared for contact because of a concussion. With center Manny Malhotra out for the season with an eye injury and RW Raffi Torres suspended the first two games, the Canucks called up Cody Hodsgon, a top prospect with just eight NHL games of experience.
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