Winning on the road is so very important in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to be a good candidate for road success, being that they set a franchise record for it in the regular season. That performance has indeed carried over. Chicago improved to 3-3 in road games during this postseason, and 2-1 in this series, as they bested Vancouver 4-2 Saturday night at GM Place.
After struggling to generate offense in Game 4, Vancouver came out firing, getting 11 shots on goal in the first period. Chicago, however, quickly put the clamp on the Canucks. The home team picked up just ten shots on goal in the last 40 minutes of the game, and it was a huge factor in Chicago's comeback win.
After Dustin Byfuglien gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead in the first, Vancouver got two straight, with Mats Sundin giving them the lead about midway through the second period. The Blackhawks responded quickly, as Byfuglien picked up his second of the night to draw the game even.
The third period featured plenty of tough hockey and plenty of battling for the puck on both ends of the rink. Just when it looked like we were destined for overtime, the Canucks' Kevin Bieksa took a high-sticking penalty. On the ensuing power play, another top young Blackhawk stepped up his game. Patrick Kane did it all on his power-play shift. He made a nice play to hold the puck in on the blue line. He won a battle for position along the wall to keep the play alive. Then, he set up Dave Bolland for the eventual game-winning goal with a brilliant cross-rink pass.
To close out their solid third period and clinch the series lead, Chicago got a little lucky. Ryan Kesler lost his footing at the 'Hawk blue line, and Martin Havlat skated all the way down the rink for an empty-netter.
The Blackhawks' win gives them a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 will be played Monday night in Chicago.
