The Chicago Blackhawks packed extra bags for their trip to Vancouver, confident they would be moving on to the Western Conference finals in San Jose.
The way the Blackhawks are playing as visitors, it's hard to argue with their confidence about disposing of the Canucks or their chances opening on the road against the Sharks.
Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg scored 36 seconds apart early in the second period, and the Blackhawks eliminated Vancouver in Game 6 of the second round for the second straight year with a 5-1 win on Tuesday night."Obviously you have to have confidence," Versteeg said after Chicago improved to 4-1 on the road, outscoring opponents 26-14. "That's how we have to play in the next series as well."
Dave Bolland scored on a short-handed breakaway with 45 seconds left in the second period, and Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien added breakaway goals 25 seconds apart in the third to send Chicago back to the West finals.
Antti Niemi made 29 saves for the second-seeded Blackhawks, who will face the San Jose Sharks with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals on the line. After losing Game 5 at home against the Canucks, the Blackhawks felt at home on the road.
"Starting on the road might be a good thing," Brouwer said. "We have confidence on the road. We play a good tight road game and try not to give up too many opportunities."
The Blackhawks have scored five or more goals in their past four road wins going back to a series-clinching victory in Nashville in the first round.
"We like the way we play on the road but we're disappointed in the way we play at home," coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's confusing everybody around the league in the playoffs but at the same time we've got a little momentum."
After setting a franchise record with 30 wins at GM Place and tying for the NHL's best home record, the Canucks were just as confused.
"I don't really have any answers," said captain Roberto Luongo, who made 30 saves. "We just didn't get the job done at home which is really surprising considering we were one of the best home teams in the league.
Shane O'Brien scored early in the third period for the Canucks, who were knocked out in the second round for the third time in four years. Vancouver hasn't moved past the second round since reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 1994.
"We wanted this opportunity," coach Alain Vigneault said. "We wanted this challenge, and for the second year in a row we weren't able to get it done."
Exactly one year after Luongo melted down when Chicago knocked Vancouver out with a 7-5 win in Game 6, the goalie had a brilliant first period. He made two point-blank saves early, gloved Patrick Sharp's breakaway with 6:13 left, and kicked out the pad to stop Byfuglien's tap-in on the goal line 8 seconds later. But things fell apart after a big hit by Byfuglien late in the first period.
The Canucks got Sami Salo back just 48 hours after taking a slap shot in the groin that forced him out of Game 5 and required a hospital visit. But they lost his top-pair partner, Alexander Edler, to an ankle injury after the 6-foot-4, 257-pound Byfuglien threw him hard into the boards.
Edler didn't come back for the second, and the mixed-up pairings quickly led to two goals. O'Brien made a bad pinch to create a 3-on-2 that Brouwer finished with a redirection. On the next shift, Kevin Bieksa gave up the puck coming out of his end, and Versteeg scored on a 2-on-1.
It was the first point of the playoffs for Brouwer, who was a healthy scratch since Game 1 despite 22 goals in the regular season. The Vancouver native was minus-5 in his first eight postseason games after his father was rushed to the hospital with a blot clot on his brain in early April.
"Early on it was a little tough, said Brouwer, who missed the final four games of the regular season to be with his father after surgery. "I was leaving the rink calling my mom to see how my dad was doing every day. Now I know he's made some good strides, now I can focus on hockey. I'm happy the coaches stuck with me a little bit and were able to give me another opportunity.
Vancouver had a great chance to get back in it on a late power play, but Pavol Demitra lost the puck playing Edler's point spot, and Bolland made it 3-0. And with the Canucks pressing to get back in the game in the third period, Kane and Byfuglien scored breakaway goals on consecutive shifts.
"You can't really blame the goaltender, Kane said. "He played real well in the first and after that we just kind of took over. If you look at all our goals I think they had breakdowns defensively.
Notes: Chicago captain Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, 19 points) with an assist on Kane's goal. ... Tomas Kopecky came out of the lineup for Brouwer.creature
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