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December 23
Blackhawks want to end it vs. Canucks Sunday
From chicagoblackhawks.com: (link)
CHICAGO – Blackhawks forward Adam Burish has several reasons for wanting to end this Western Conference Semifinal against Vancouver Sunday night in Game 5 at the United Center (8 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS).
Like his teammates and Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, Burish doesn't want to give new life to the Canucks, who trail 3-1 in the series after dropping three games in a row – including the last two at home in General Motors Place in Vancouver.
"You've got a team over there that is desperate, they're angry, (and) this is their last kind of chance," said Burish, who has been a pain in the Canucks' side as a pest since Game 2. "If you don't finish a team out here and you give them a chance, you can give them a lot of momentum."
Burish also has another, more selfish, reason for wanting the series to end tonight.
"I just don't want to get on the plane again," he said of a long flight back to Vancouver for a potential Game 6. "I hate that flight. I'm sick of the airplane food. I was miserable flying back (Saturday). I was tired. So, that's another motivating factor. Let's not get back on that plane and take that four-hour ride again."
Even forward Andrew Ladd, who is from British Columbia, hopes he doesn't have to go home again until after the playoffs end. He said the quick turnaround and long flight can be leg killers.
"You can't help it, changing time zones," Ladd said. "It's tough on the body. It's not a fun day flying all the way there, so we want to close it out tonight. We don't really want to go back there."
If recent history holds, the odds are good that they won't.
In their previous three games that ended a series in their favor, dating back to last seaon, the Hawks outscored Calgary, Vancouver and Nashville by a combined 16-9 margin -- and beat the Canucks 7-5 in a Game 6 close-out at the United Center a year ago.
"Last year we played Vancouver here in that close-out game, and it was the craziest building I've been in," Burish said. "I'm expecting that same atmosphere again."
In their organization's playoff history, the Hawks have also won five-straight games and eight of their last nine when presented with the chance to eliminate an opponent in a series. Also in their favor is a 13-0 record all-time when winning three of the first four games in a post-season series.
"It's probably just a coincidence, but we did put a lot of emphasis on how important those games were," Ladd said. "You don't want to let a team get any momentum back."
Burish expounded on the reason.
"A team that kind of survives elimination, all of a sudden in the back of their minds they start thinking, ‘Boy, we can come back and we can beat this team. We can win this series,' " he said. "So, it's a dangerous game. We've done a good job of taking that away from (teams)."
In order to do it again, the Hawks will have to muster as much desperation as the Canucks. Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell doesn't see that as a huge concern.
"I just think we're hungry," he said. "It's tough when you're up 3-0. Look at San Jose and Detroit in (Game 4). San Jose didn't come out with much of an effort there. Those are tough. In our series, this is far from over in our minds. I don't feel like we're going to have a problem tonight (being motivated). This is not going to be easy."
CHICAGO – Blackhawks forward Adam Burish has several reasons for wanting to end this Western Conference Semifinal against Vancouver Sunday night in Game 5 at the United Center (8 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS).
Like his teammates and Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, Burish doesn't want to give new life to the Canucks, who trail 3-1 in the series after dropping three games in a row – including the last two at home in General Motors Place in Vancouver.
"You've got a team over there that is desperate, they're angry, (and) this is their last kind of chance," said Burish, who has been a pain in the Canucks' side as a pest since Game 2. "If you don't finish a team out here and you give them a chance, you can give them a lot of momentum."
Burish also has another, more selfish, reason for wanting the series to end tonight.
"I just don't want to get on the plane again," he said of a long flight back to Vancouver for a potential Game 6. "I hate that flight. I'm sick of the airplane food. I was miserable flying back (Saturday). I was tired. So, that's another motivating factor. Let's not get back on that plane and take that four-hour ride again."
Even forward Andrew Ladd, who is from British Columbia, hopes he doesn't have to go home again until after the playoffs end. He said the quick turnaround and long flight can be leg killers.
"You can't help it, changing time zones," Ladd said. "It's tough on the body. It's not a fun day flying all the way there, so we want to close it out tonight. We don't really want to go back there."
If recent history holds, the odds are good that they won't.
In their previous three games that ended a series in their favor, dating back to last seaon, the Hawks outscored Calgary, Vancouver and Nashville by a combined 16-9 margin -- and beat the Canucks 7-5 in a Game 6 close-out at the United Center a year ago.
"Last year we played Vancouver here in that close-out game, and it was the craziest building I've been in," Burish said. "I'm expecting that same atmosphere again."
In their organization's playoff history, the Hawks have also won five-straight games and eight of their last nine when presented with the chance to eliminate an opponent in a series. Also in their favor is a 13-0 record all-time when winning three of the first four games in a post-season series.
"It's probably just a coincidence, but we did put a lot of emphasis on how important those games were," Ladd said. "You don't want to let a team get any momentum back."
Burish expounded on the reason.
"A team that kind of survives elimination, all of a sudden in the back of their minds they start thinking, ‘Boy, we can come back and we can beat this team. We can win this series,' " he said. "So, it's a dangerous game. We've done a good job of taking that away from (teams)."
In order to do it again, the Hawks will have to muster as much desperation as the Canucks. Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell doesn't see that as a huge concern.
"I just think we're hungry," he said. "It's tough when you're up 3-0. Look at San Jose and Detroit in (Game 4). San Jose didn't come out with much of an effort there. Those are tough. In our series, this is far from over in our minds. I don't feel like we're going to have a problem tonight (being motivated). This is not going to be easy."
