The Chicago Blackhawks will attempt to make history when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks are the only remaining team in the NHL that has yet to lose in regulation. With a record of 12-0-3, the team is just one overtime loss behind the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks for the greatest start in league history; that team not only went on to win the Pacific division, but also won the Stanley Cup in spring of 2007. The only other team to accomplish Chicago's feat of a 12-0-3 start were the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers.
The Blackhawks will face an ideal nemesis on Tuesday. The Canucks were carrying a six game winning streak until they lost Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues this weekend. In the latter match, the Blues heavily outplayed Vancouver. "The second period, everybody has to realize that there's an opposition on the ice and they just took their game to a level that we had a real tough time finding," said Head Coach Alain Vigneault. "But we responded well in the third and had opportunities to win the game."
Also worthy of note is that the game marked the poorest outing of the season by goalie Roberto Luongo. It was the first time the netminder had allowed more than two goals all season; prior to the three against the Blues, Luongo had only conceded 10 goals in seven games. "The first [goal] kind of looked silly," Luongo said. "Sometimes you are caught trying to play the patience game. Good play (by Blues forward T.J. Oshie) but at same time you want to make that save."
The Canucks won the first meeting in the shootout by the score of 2-1. Luongo was the star of that encounter.
Predictions: Vancouver wins this match 2-1.
Start Time: 8:30 P.M. EST
TV: SNET-P, CSN-CH
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
