It isn't St. Patrick's Day, but for Canucks haters, it sure felt like it.
Fifteen days before the Irish national holiday, the Vancouver Canucks must be feeling green.
Three Patricks were the keys in the Blackhawks' 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon against the Canucks in Chicago.
Rookie Patrick Kane scored twice and added an assist, Patrick Sharp tallied his 32nd goal of the season, and Patrick Lalime started in goal for the fifth straight game, as the Blackhawks kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
Okay, Kane and Sharp's combined offensive output was the margin of Chicago's victory, but Lalime?
Lalime's impact was a bit of an exaggeration as he wasn't busy at all in the Chicago net, but at least got the job done with No. 1 netminder Nikolai Khabibulin still out with back spasms.
In fact, Lalime finished with only 9 saves the entire game as the Blackhawks embarrassed the Canucks, outplaying the visitors thoroughly.
The Blackhawks outhit the Canucks 26-13, and outshot them 28-10.
That's right, the Canucks managed a paltry ten shots.
With the victory, Chicago (31-28-6) is now six points out of eighth place, trailing three teams--including Vancouver (32-23-10)--for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
And how was this latest defeat for Vancouver?
After suffering two straight home losses--both featuring third-period collapses--the Canucks appeared to get a break when they hooked up with the seemingly inferior Blackhawks.
After all, Vancouver went into the game 5-0-0 in their last five visits to Chicago and had won four straight overall against the 12th-place Blackhawks.
Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo also seemed to have the Blackhawks' number, having a perfect 4-0-0 record and a 1.20 GAA including a shutout in his previous four outings against them.
This time though, the Canucks didn't need to blow a third-period lead in order to lose.
In fact, this time, they didn't even enjoy a lead at any point, and more importantly, failed to get a point on the standings for the first time in nine games.
The Canucks, who is tied for the lead with ten bonus (read: cheap) points from OT and shootout losses, fell in regulation this time around, ensuring that they wouldn't move further up in the standings.
In fact, 10 had a brand new meaning in Vancouver on this night--as that was all the shots the Canucks could muster in this latest effort.
And just before the midway point of the third period, Luongo was gone, having allowed his fourth goal on 26 shots. The Blackhawks had a three-goal lead by then and the punchless Canucks, who had a grand total of two shots in the period, were completely finished.
By then, Matt Pettinger, the Canucks' prized acquisition at the trade deadline, also seemed to want out of the game too.
Shortly after Sharp's goal made it 3-1, Pettinger took a run at forward Jonathan Toews, who got a high stick to the face. Blackhawks defenseman Cam Barker then joined in to take his hacks at Pettinger, and both were sent off the ice for 5-minute fighting majors.
Toews did not return after getting Pettinger's stick in his face, but playing short-handed was nothing new for the Blackhawks, which makes their victory even more remarkable.
While Canucks fans liked to play the injury card earlier in the year when Vancouver was missing several key players, the injury-depleted Blackhawks, on the other hand, thrived despite missing several of their own.
In addition to goaltender Khabibulin, the Blackhawks were also without forwards Martin Havlat (shoulder) and Robert Lang (sore back), and ex-Canuck defenseman Brent Sopel (wrist).
The Canucks, who have now lost three straight, can only kick themselves for their latest winless streak. With a chance to distant themselves from Colorado and Nashville--the two teams with whom they are currently tied--with a victory, the Canucks instead came out flat.
And kissed away two more golden points.
Ten shots on goal? It wasn't as though the Canucks were playing against a top team like the Canadiens, Devils, or Red Wings.
They were playing against the lowly Blackhawks.
And those Blackhawks, fighting for their playoff lives, showed they wanted the game more.
Even the New York Islanders, battling for the final playoff spot in the East, came out with 53 shots against Florida goaltender Craig Anderson, including 29 in one period, albeit in a 1-0 loss.
The Canucks?
Interestingly, veteran Trevor Linden was a healthy scratch in a big game, and the rest of the Canucks chose to play dead on Sunday. Even Luongo couldn't save them.
Another fun day for Canucks haters.
In the meantime, the Canucks don't have much time to recover from this latest setback. Their next contest is Tuesday in Colorado, where the rejuvenated Avalanche--despite losing forwards Marek Svatos and Ryan Smyth indefinitely on Saturday--will be awaiting them.
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