What an absolutely brutal second period for the Vancouver Canucks. In my eyes, at least, you can’t blame any one player. Roberto Luongo allowed three goals, but his defense hung him out to dry each time. This is a total team effort, or lack thereof. Troy Brouwer started the scoring off early in the second period with a nice re-direction goal thanks to a beautiful setup from Patrick Sharp. Merely 36 seconds later, Kris Versteeg took advantage of some poor defense on Shane O’Brien’s part to beat Luongo up high. You could hear a pin drop during much of the middle frame after those two rough tallies.
The Canucks showed a little bit of life late in the second, earning a powerplay in the final minute. Unfortunately Pavol Demitra made a boneheaded move at the blueline and allowed Dave Bolland to fight his way to a back-breaking shorthanded breakaway goal.
It’s difficult to foresee the Blackhawks coughing up a 3-0 lead in one period, especially considering how flat the Canucks looked during much of this game. Vancouver seems like it has no spring in its step right now. Can they hope for a miraculous third period or should they just call their travel agents right now?