Canucks overcome struggles against Blackhawks with win

Vancouver gets the best of playoff nemesis Chicago in final regular season match-up

Friday Feb. 4 in Vancouver: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks

Take that Blackhawk fans! Sit down Vince Vaughn in your Blackhawks jersey! NHL's best team, the Vancouver Canucks, had a bone to pick with the team that has knocked them out of the second round of the playoffs the last two seasons. The result was a thrilling game with Vancouver having the last laugh with a 4-3 win in the last match-up against Chicago in the regular season.
With Vancouver trailing 3-2 in the third period, the Sedin twins came through in the clutch to win the game. Henrik scored a power play goal midway through the third period and Daniel Sedin tapped the puck over Blackhawk goalie Marty Turco for the game winning goal with just four minutes left in the game.
While Chicago fans might blame the officials for two calls that went against the Blackhawks, they still had a two-man advantage with the lead and could not score. Chicago also failed to score on three straight power plays. In the first period with the game scoreless, Dave Bolland got the puck past Roberto Luongo but the goal was waved off when Blackhawk winger Troy Brouwer skated into the crease, causing interference on Luongo. Then causing insult to injury, Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored when it appeared that the play was offside.
The win snapped a five game goal losing streak to Chicago going back to last year's playoffs. Earlier in the season, Luongo surrendered 7 goals in a humiliating loss to Chicago. Despite giving up 45 shots on goal, Luongo was good enough for the win and hopefully regained his confidence against a team that has given him troubles the last two years.
The loss knocked Chicago to ninth place in the Western Conference, just one point out of the playoffs. But they look battle tested with captain Johnathan Toews leading the way. Toews had a goal and assist in the game.
The battle for NHL scoring leader appears to be between the Sedin twins, who are playing their best hockey at the right time. Daniel took over the lead in the NHL with 69 points, while Henrik has 65 points.
With the Northwest Division nearly locked up, the Canucks are revving up to finish the season with the best record and get home ice advantage for the playoffs. I can't wait for the playoffs to start.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=310204022