Morning Box Score: 'Hawks Drop Second Round Opener

By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 1, 2009 3:20PM

The Blackhawks got off to a rough start on the left coast as they opened their second-round NHL playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks last night, losing 5-3. It was all Vancouver early on as the Canucks put up three goals over the first two periods to take a 3-0 lead while Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo stopped all 18 Blackhawks shot over that span to keep the shutout intact.

The 'Hawks, however, came storming back in the third. Patrick Kane got the Blackhawks on the board just over a minute into the final period (with the assist from Havlat and Keith) and added a power play goal on a rebound 10 minutes later (with the assist from Versteeg and Seabrook) to cut the lead to 3-2. Dave Bolland scored the equalizer on a long shot (assist from Keith and Eager) with only a few minutes left to play. With just over a minute remaining, though, Sami Salo gave the Canucks the 4-3 lead and Vancouver added an empty net goal in the waning seconds of the game to seal a 5-3 first game victory.

Kane lamented the blown comeback afterward, saying, "We had a great third period to start off. One mistake and it ends up in the back of your net. It's not going to be as easy as Calgary. They're a faster-paced team and we've got to keep up with them." Game two is tomorrow night with an 8 p.m. face-off, once again overlapping with the Bulls game.