Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
Game 3 of this physical series was played Tuesday night in Chicago. Not only was Vancouver coming off a loss, but they were dealing with injuries to a stalwart defenseman and one of their top six forwards. With this as a backdrop, the Canucks responded with a 3-1 win at United Center.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
If you're a Canuck fan, you ride it as long as you can. The opportunistic Canucks started right where they left off after their sweep of St. Louis, taking a big lead through two periods while being outshot. They then proceeded to blow the lead, and needed a late Sami Salo goal to beat Chicago 5-3.
It was a great night of rivalries in the NHL on Tuesday, including a classic original six tilt in Boston, where the Bruins pulled out a 3-1 win over Montreal.
Tim Thomas stopped 34-of-35 shots, and even inserted himself into the rough stuff when he clobbered Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn just moments after he sent Aaron Ward into the boards.
Kostitsyn gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead early in the second period, until Zdeno Chara added a pair of power play goals later in the period. David Krejci put the game out of reach late in the third period, scoring 17th goal of the season, helping lead the Bruins to their third straight win. Montreal had won four in a row, and eight of its past nine entering the game.
First, they signedMats Sundin before Christmas, and got him in the lineup for the first time last week.
Now, the Vancouver Canucks have gotten even more good news. The backbone of their team in the first part of the season, team captain and star goaltender Roberto Luongo, appears ready to get back in the lineup this week.
Out since suffering a groin injury in Pittsburgh November 22, Luongo has finally started practicing with the team, and the Vancouver Sun speculates that his return to the lineup could come as soon as Thursday at home against Phoenix.
After months of rumors, speculation, self-imposed deadlines and waiting, Mats Sundin finally took the ice on Wednesday night, making his debut with the Vancouver Canucks. The 37-year old Sundin played 24 shifts and logged 15:02 in ice-time, as the Canucks beat Edmonton, 4-2, snapping a two-game losing streak.
For nearly two periods it was a defensive battle, until the two teams had an offensive outburst combining for four goals in the final six minutes of the second period, including a pair from Vancouver's Steve Bernier just 12 seconds apart. With the game tied, 1-1, Bernier ripped a slap shot behind Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson at the 17:20 mark, and then tapped in a one-timer on a feed from Alexandre Burrows to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead heading to the third period.
After Erik Cole scored his eighth goal of the season for Edmonton, cutting the deficit to 3-2, Pavol Demitra added an empty net goal with 36 seconds to play, clinching the win for Vancouver.
Bernier and Burrows each finished with three points for Vancouver, while Jason LaBarbera stopped 23-of-25 shots to pick up his second win as a member of the Canucks.
Ladd also picked up three assists in the win, earning himself No. 1 start honors with his four point effort. The four points, by the way, were a career-best for the 22-year old forward.
With the Coyotes trailing 7-0 in the second period, Envir Lisin at least got them on the board with his fifth goal of the season, which was the shot they could sneak behind Chicago goalie Cristobal Huet, who stopped 20 shots in the win.
Through their first 19 games the San Jose Sharks have, quite simply, been men among boys. They continued their early season dominance on Sunday, coming from behind in Chicago to pull out a 6-5 win, improving to 15-3-1 on the season. The Sharks' 31 points are currently leading the NHL, three points ahead of the Rangers who have played one more game.
Entering the third period down a goal, Dan Boyle scored his second goal of the night to tie the score at five, while Devin Setoguchi (are you voting for him yet?) put in the winner with just under five minutes to play in regulation.
The Sharks had to rally in the third after watching Chicago erase a 4-2 deficit in the second period, as they received goals from Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker and Patrick Kane in the final ten minutes of the period. Barker and Kane's goals came just 30 seconds apart.
Naturally, as is the case when 11 goals are scored, it wasn't a night for the goalies, as Chicago's Cristobal Huet turned aside only 25 of 31 shots, while Brian Boucher allowed five pucks to get behind him in the win.
Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell, playing in his first game against his former team, picked up a goal and two assists in the loss. Campbell was acquired by the Sharks, from Buffalo, during last season's trade deadline in exchange for Steve Bernier and a first-round pick.
Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.
What's Changed: The change in Vancouver involves the loss of veterans Naslund and Linden. Those guys were mainstays of the franchise for many years, and it's not going to be the same without them. However, did the Canucks adequately address their goal-scoring problems? It was a major issue down the stretch as Vancouver collapsed, but it was largely lost in the talk of goaltender Roberto Luongo's own personal slump.
Is Demitra ready to help? On one hand, Jacques Lemaire has a reputation for sucking the life out of the offensive side of hockey. On the other, Demitra was in a contract year, spent much time playing on the same line as 40-goal scorer Marian Gaborik, and still could only produce 15 goals. Lemaire's system can be suffocating, yes, but he also gets a lot out of players who are pretty average.
(A good example of this is Marc Chouinard, who scored 14 goals in 72 games for Minnesota in 2005-2006. He signed in Vancouver, posted two goals in 42 games, and hasn't played in the NHL since.)
Which will it be for Demitra? Canuck fans hope Lemaire - and not Demitra - is to blame for his poor season last year.
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
It's not often that the average hockey fan from a small prairie town gets a chance to make millions and shoot pucks on a NHL Ice Surface.
Well, Darwin Head of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan had that very chance during last night's Avs/Canucks tilt. Standing at center ice, with a stadium full of spectators and the legendary Bobby Orr watching, Head buried enough biscuits to win himself a cool seven figures.
Head scored 15 goals – the exact number needed – in 24 seconds into an open net from the far blue line at General Motors Place to win $1 million in a one-time payout.
"This is just unreal. I can't wait to have a huge party and celebrate with my family and friends back home in Prince Albert," said Head. "And it feels so great that my wife and I will be able to look after our kids' futures with this money."
I think Mr. Head could probably buy the entire town of Prince Albert and have enough change left over for a 2-4 of Molson Canadian.
With the San Jose Sharks struggling to score goals, it only makes sense that they go out and acquire ... another defenseman. Yes, the sharp-toothed monsters made a move to solidify their already tight defense.
The Sabres have dealt defensemen Brian Campbell to the San Jose Sharks along with a seventh round pick in 2008.
In return for Campbell, WGR reports that the Sabres will receive Steve Bernier and a first round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.
This is a great move for the Sabres, given that Brian Campbell already expressed his desire not to come back to the Buffaslugs.
For the Sharks, they offload a player that had struggled to meet his potential, and load up with an experienced defenseman.
I'm going to give this trade two Milburys. The Sharks take an awful risk in losing Campbell to free agency, and don't help their sputtering offense. For the Sabres, they get a winger that needed to be free of Ron Wilson's stifling defensive system, and get rid of a malcontent in the process.
Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
It was a great night of rivalries in the NHL on Tuesday, including a classic original six tilt in Boston, where the Bruins pulled out a 3-1 win over Montreal. 
First, they signed Mats Sundin before Christmas, and got him in the lineup for the first time last week.
Not one of Ilya Bryzgalov's best performances for Phoenix, as the Chicago Blackhawks lit him up seven times on 28 shots, as the Coyotes lost a laugher, 7-1. Chicago received a pair of goals from Ben Eager, while also getting tallies from Dave Bolland, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien, and Andrew ladd in the win. 
Through their first 19 games the San Jose Sharks have, quite simply, been men among boys. They continued their early season dominance on Sunday, coming from behind in Chicago to pull out a 6-5 win, improving to 15-3-1 on the season. The Sharks' 31 points are currently leading the NHL, three points ahead of the Rangers who have played one more game. 
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
With the San Jose Sharks struggling to score goals, it only makes sense that they go out and acquire ... another defenseman. Yes, the sharp-toothed monsters made a move to solidify their already tight defense.
