The Blackhawks wanted the game more than the Canucks Tuesday, but that’s likely to change in Game 5.
CHICAGO -- The story angles at the morning skate in a 3-0 series were mighty lean. So sparse, in fact, that Henrik Sedin found himself answering a question about the possible impact Chicago's Dave Bolland might have in Game 4.
Secretly, he must have been thinking, "Like a guy who has been out with a concussion for a month plus 10 days is going to turn a series around."
But, alas, the Sedins are so unfailingly polite that Henrik went right ahead and opined. He is just too nice a guy not to.
"It's not going to change anything," he said. "He's a good player for them. It's not going to change our game plan, or our approach to the game.
"He's just another player."
Yikes.
Ten hours later, Henrik was minus-3 and Bolland plus-4, as the Chicago centreman returned from his concussion to score one goal, four points, and stand tied for his team's lead in playoff scoring in a 7-2 Game 4 drubbing.
Just another player, you say?
"Henrik said that? Hmmm…" said Bolland, who would later refer to the Sedins as "probably the two best players in our league right now."
What does it all mean? Not much really, other than a couple of charter flights back to Vancouver -- one of which was scheduled anyhow -- and another night of terrific hockey in this series.
"It's playoffs. You get one win, you get life," Henrik said post-game. "We didn't think we were going to beat them four straight. They were too good a team to do that to, but at the same time, we didn't come up to our standards tonight."
And Bolland?
"I didn't think I was going to have four points," he said. "I was just hoping for a win, and I got both. Fun night."
He has had uncanny success against the Canucks in the post-season, driving Daniel Sedin bananas in that Round 2 series a year ago.
Does the former London Knight Bolland have Vancouver's number?
"No, that's more you (media) guys," said Mikael Samuelsson of the Canucks' Bolland Curse. "He's a great player. But do they win (because) Bolland is in? I'm not buying into that. You can. But, obviously, they did."
This was a game where the Canucks, with a 3-0 series lead, could not possibly fire up the same intensity that the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks could, facing an embarrassing sweep at home.
Chicago wanted it more, sure. But in reality, they needed it more. History tells us that this tends to be the freebie game before the better team closes out the series at home on Thursday night; though Bolland promises it will take a Herculean effort to pull the shades on his club.
"What you see tonight, we're going to do the same thing," he said of Game 5.
"Our season is on the line, we have a lot of pride in here," added Duncan Keith. "We never want to quit. There's a long, long way to go, a lot of hockey left."
This one was supposed to be a foregone conclusion, with the Blackhawks looking tired after seven rounds of playoffs over the past two seasons, plus an Olympic Games for seven of their top players. Meanwhile Brent Seabrook, their 23-minute defenceman, was out of the lineup with an upper body injury (read: concussion).
So what happens? Chicago scores seven.
"Obviously it ended up not as intense. We wanted to play as intense."
"We haven't won anything yet, and sometimes we acted like we did. We have to dig deeper, work harder than we did today, that's for sure."
You can't write about a 3-0 series anymore without referencing the fact that, yes, only last spring the Philadelphia Flyers became the third team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
So, there. We've said it.
The way this Vancouver team bounces back, we'll be surprised if we're citing that stat again two nights from now.
Mark Spector is the lead columnist for sportsnet.ca
Follow me on Twitter.com @SportsnetSpec
