Game 3 notes: Blackhawks-Canucks

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Sunday, April 17, 2011Posted: 2 PM
Blackhawks (44-29-9) vs. Canucks (56-19-9)

Canucks lead series 2-0

Starting Goalies

Blackhawks: Corey Crawford took the hard-luck loss in Game 1, allowing two first-period goals but keeping Chicago in the game with 31 saves. Vancouver gave Crawford a harder time in the second game of the series, netting four goals on 27 shots. In his first season as an everyday netminder, Crawford had averaged 2.30 goals against, good for seventh in the NHL.

Canucks: Roberto Luongo posted a shutout in the series opener and made 23 saves in Game 2 to lead Vancouver to a 2-0 series lead. During the regular season, Luongo registered the second-lowest goals against average in the league (2.11) and boasted a save percentage just a shade under 93 percent.

Previous games
Thanks to a pair of goals by Daniel Sedin on Friday, the Canucks took a 2-0 series lead. Sedin, the NHLs leader in points during the regular season, also added an assist. Ben Smith scored two goals of his own for Chicago, but the third-period rally came too late as Vancouver notched a 4-3 victory on their home ice.

Head-to-head
The two teams split their regular-season series 2-2, but the Blackhawks outscored the Canucks 12-9 over the four head-to-head matchups. The Sedin brothers totaled nine points against Chicago during the regular season.

Whos hot?
Daniel Sedin has seven points in his last four games, while rookie Ben Smith is coming off the only two-goal performance of his career.
Storylines
The defending champs bring it back to Chicago, looking to avoid a slip into a 3-0 series deficit. Only three teams in NHL history have gone on to win a series after dropping the first three games.

Sound off
What can the Hawks do to stifle Vancouvers explosive offense?

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