Chicago Blackhawks emerge victorious after intense brawl against Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in OT -NHL
It is always exciting when Chicago and Vancouver go head-to-head, but Wednesday night’s matchup between the two looked like a wrestling match instead of a hockey game as Blackhawks and Canucks exchanged fists and roughed each other up at every given opportunity.
Blackhawks emerged as the victors in an overtime competition as Andrew Shaw fired off the deciding shot, 2-1, at the sold-out United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
If Chicago and Vancouver go up against each other again in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs, fans can expect such a thrilling performance every night.
Shaw was bashed into the sideboards by Alexander Edler during the match, hitting the glass face first and bouncing back but luckily got up right away and was not injured.
"Offensively, (Shaw's) got some nice play recognition and a nice set of hands as well, even if he uses his pads (to score)," Chicago coach, Joel Quenneville, said. "Whether you use a term (like) fearless or gutsy -- you could add some more terms to that
-- but you appreciate the way he competes for either himself, or his teammates, or his team.”
Only moments later, Daniel Sedin of Vancouver was elbowed right in the face by Chicago’s Duncan Keith, late in the opening period and left the game with an apparent injury. The incident could be reviewed by the NHL in the upcoming days and potentially land
Keith in hot water with a suspension.
"Everybody saw the head shot there, so (Sedin will be) re-evaluated tomorrow and I'll know more from there," Canucks’ coach, Alain Vigneault, said.
Phoenix Coyotes captain, Shane Doan, was slapped on a three-game suspension the same day after a previous elbow to the head of Dallas Stars’ player, Jamie Benn, a move which could definitely be used against Keith as well.
Jannik Hansen got the first of the night for Vancouver in the opener followed by the equaliser from Patrick Kane 3:12 into the second. Andrew Shaw grabbed the overtime winner and gave Chicago a much needed victory against Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks have the next against Dallas Stars on Thursday while Blackhawks host Nashville Predators aiming for a sixth straight win on Sunday.
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