Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, left, talks to a referee during the second period of Game 2.

BY MARK SPECTOR
sportsnet.ca

When Ben Eager and Adam Burish showered Roberto Luongo in snow during Game 2, it was the kind of thing that drives the tough players crazy. In the regular season, one or more of the Canucks would have put an end to that kind of nonsense in a heartbeat.

But in the playoffs, it’s not so easy.

The Canucks never found a way to match the Blackhawks physicality in Game 2, nor did guys like Alex Burrows — usually a pretty good pest — reply with some annoying of their own.

"(In Game 2) we let them do pretty much whatever they wanted to do," groused Vancouver defenceman Shane O’Brien. "Their guys are going hard to the net, snowing (Luongo), bumping him, slashing him. We’ve got to play a lot meaner, a whole lot grittier. It’s playoff time."

It is undeniable. Luongo was bumped hard by Andrew Ladd, and found himself wearing Blackhawks players at several junctures.

Antti Niemi in the Chicago goal? Not so much.

"I was upset with the way we kind of didn’t respond physically and emotionally," said O’Brien, who is playing some of the best hockey of his career right now. "There has been a lot of talk about the fine line of not scrumming up, this and that. But at the end of the day, we’re playing for the Stanley Cup here. You’ve got to push back. Show them that you want it.

"From whistle to whistle, we’ve got to be a lot grittier, a lot meaner. They put their meat in the lineup last game and they did the job. Whistle to whistle, we’ve got to get a lot meaner, a lot more desperate, a lot more in their face."

Of course, O’Brien’s coach didn’t necessarily agree.

"We’re not turning the other cheek here," coach Alain Vigneault said. "We’re playing whistle to whistle. I think that’s what they’re doing, too. They’re playing hard and both teams know taking the penalty at the wrong time can hurt you."

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If you’ve watched the Canucks over the past few playoff seasons, you’re seeing a much more even-keeled team this year.

It doesn’t mean they are going to win every night. But surely, this more experienced edition of the Canucks will beat itself a lot less often than past teams did.

"Its a totally different feeling in the dressing room and on the bench during games," Henrik Sedin said. "Last year we were rattled at everything. Referees, opponents — everything. This year we stick to our game plan. Even though last game we weren't successful, if you look at the L.A. series we had a lot of games we stuck with it and came out on the winning side."

Truly this team spends more periods playing at or close to its potential than in past playoff runs. In the marathon that is the Stanley Cup playoffs, consistency can go a long ways.

"Mentally that's the thing that impressed me most," Hank said. "We played good (in Game 2). We didn't blame anyone, we didn't blame the referees. We didn't take too many penalties in scrums. That is something we learned from last year."

"The proof is going to be on how they perform on the ice," Vigneault added. "But overall, the way they conduct themselves, the experiences they’ve had in the past, make us better equipped to handle these moments."

••••

At the end of a lengthy media session on Tuesday, Ryan Kesler had his fill of questions about what went wrong in Game 2 for Vancouver.

Kesler is a smart, well spoken guy. But he often sounds like he’d rather have a root canal than deal with the media.

Then again, sometimes I get sick of hearing out questions as well.

"Let me get through this negative energy before I answer that," Kesler said, when asked if there was a momentum shift in the series. "It’s a 1-1 series guys. The series isn’t over. Yeah we could have been up 2-0. Who cares? We’re tied. We’ve still got to win three more games, they’ve got to win three more games.

"It’s a best-of-five series. It can be 0-0 for all I care. It’s a wash now."