The first battle in the second round of the 2009 playoffs will take place tonight in British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks host the Chicago Blackhawks at General Motors Place for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The third-seeded Canucks were champions of the Northwest Division this season and made quick work of their opponents in the opening round, sweeping St. Louis in four games. It was the first sweep of a seven-game series in franchise history.
Chicago, meanwhile, made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, qualifying for the tournament as the West's fourth-seeded club. The Blackhawks downed Calgary in six games during the conference quarterfinals to pick up the club's first postseason series win since sweeping the Flames in the opening round of the 1996 playoffs.
This series pits one of the league's best goaltenders in Vancouver's Roberto Luongo against one of the NHL's quickest and youngest teams.
The Blackhawks' youth movement is led on offense by captain Jonathan Toews, who just celebrated his 21st birthday, and is aided by former No. 1 overall pick Patrick Kane and 2008-09 Calder Trophy finalist Kris Versteeg.
Versteeg led the Blackhawks in the opening round with seven points (2g, 5a) and all of that offense came in the final three games against Calgary.
Luongo showed his worth in the opening series against the Blues, posting eye- popping numbers on his way to a 4-0 record. Luongo stopped 126-of-131 shots he faced in the series for a .962 save percentage and also recorded a stingy 1.16 goals against average.
Vancouver also boasts one of the NHL's best 1-2 punches in twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The duo both notched a team-best 82 points during the regular season, with Daniel, a left wing, posting a club-high 31 goals and Henrik, a centerman, leading the way with 60 assists that ranked eighth in the league.
The Sedins had a strong opening round against St. Louis as well. Daniel posted two goals and three assists to lead the team with five points and Henrik added four points on a goal and three helpers. Both Daniel and Henrik also posted a plus-four rating for the series.
The lone non-Sedin on Vancouver's top line also had a productive series against the Blues, as winger Alex Burrows recorded a team-high three goals.
Handling goaltending duties for the Blackhawks in the opening round was veteran backstop Nikolai Khabibulin, who has assumed the No. 1 role despite the presence of offseason free-agent signee Cristobal Huet.
Khabibulin, who won a Stanley Cup title as Tampa Bay's starting netminder in 2004, had an up-and-down series against the Flames and ended the set with a 2.52 GAA and .914 save percentage.
The Canucks and Blackhawks met four times during the regular season and split the series with two wins apiece. However, Vancouver won the final two matchups and outscored the 'Hawks by an 11-3 margin in those contests.
Chicago had a problem slowing down the Sedin twins over the course of the season series, as the duo led all scorers on either team with six points each in the four games. Khabibulin also struggled with an 0-2 record and lofty 4.84 GAA against Vancouver this year.
The Blackhawks and Canucks have met just twice in the postseason and each club has won a round. They last met in 1995, when Chicago swept Vancouver in four games during the conference semifinals.
Neither the Blackhawks nor the Canucks have made it to the conference finals since the mid-1990s, but that will change for one club with the outcome of this series. Chicago made it to the West finals in 1995, where it lost to Detroit in five games. The Canucks were last participants in the conference finals in 1994, when they made it to the franchise's second Stanley Cup Finals before falling in seven games to the New York Rangers.
Vancouver, which will host Game 2 on Saturday, was 24-12-5 as the host during the regular season. The Blackhawks posted a 22-15-4 mark as the road team.
