Chicago Blackhawks' Troy Brouwer, left, and Vancouver Canucks' Maxim Lapierre collide during the second period of game 5 of an NHL Western Conference quarterfinal Stanley Cup playoff hockey series in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday April 21, 2011.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
First it was a monkey, now it's a chimpanzee, and if the Vancouver Canucks lose Game 6 Sunday, than the Chicago Blackhawks will once again be the gorilla on their back.
The Blackhawks, who have eliminated Vancouver from the last two postseasons, staved off elimination again in Game 5, and now trail the Western Conference quarter-final series 3-2.
"We've got 20-something guys in here who do believe, and that's all that matters," winger Daniel Sedin said when asked about doubters.
The defending NHL champions have won consecutive games, including a 5-0 whitewash at Rogers Arena Thursday, and are solving Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, who was the best player in the series through three games. Luongo allowed three goals in the first period, as a stunned arena murmured in disbelief, and was pulled for a second straight game after surrendering a fourth goal early in the middle frame.
For Canucks fans so accustomed to expecting the worst, Luongo's performance will only increase speculation that he hurt his back in Game 4 making an awkward save, and calls for Cory Schneider to start at the United Center Sunday in Game 6. However, coach Alain Vigneault poured cold water on that theory afterwards, backing Luongo to start once more.
The Olympic gold medal-winning goaltender will have to contend with a Blackhawks team that is riding enormous momentum and finally getting contributions from its best players.
Defenceman Duncan Keith, who was atrocious in the first two games, both Chicago losses, had two goals and two assists and has been splendid since partner Brent Seabrook was waylaid by Raffi Torres in Game 3. The same goes for the entire Hawks team, although the Norris Trophy-winning Keith has been vocal about his displeasure with the Torres hit, and his desire to get even.
"We're all trying to pick our game up, and I'm part of that," Keith said. "We're facing elimination. Let's face it, we're not out of the woods yet."
Forward Patrick Kane got his first goal of the series, and winger Marian Hossa also woke up in Game 5. The former Ottawa Senator had been invisible through four games, with just one assist, but had two goals and a helper in the romp.
He beat Luongo for the game's first goal six minutes into the first period, than chased him after just 12 shots with Chicago's fourth goal. The Hawks scored twice in a 22-second span to open a 2-0 lead, and later made it 5-0 just three minutes after Schneider entered the game.
"It's a tough one to give up at the beginning of the game," Luongo said of the opening goal.
At the other end, rookie Corey Crawford earned his first postseason shutout. He made 36 saves, but played with a big cushion all evening.
Until last year, when the Philadelphia Flyers roared back to defeat the Boston Bruins in a conference semi-final, it was laughable to think that a team could lose the first three games of a best-of-seven series, and come back to win. Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders had done the trick until Philadelphia joined the exclusive club.
The Canucks lost four consecutive games on two occasions this season, during their run to the Presidents' Trophy for best overall record, and their 117-point season. Both times, overtime and/or shootout losses were involved.
But they are clearly searching for answers right now: in goal, on defence and up front. Vigneault replaced underachieving defenceman Keith Ballard with Aaron Rome Thursday, but it backfired as the latter was minus-two.
The Sedin twins have now turned in consecutive stinkers, while Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows remain goal-less. Vigneault turned to rookie Cody Hodgson in Game 5, so that he had another natural centre in the lineup, but it came at the expense of beefy winger Victor Oreskovich, who had been an effective fore-checker earlier in the series.