Canucks 3 Blackhawks 2

Game Recaps: canucks.com . Vancouver Province . ESPN
Statistics: Score Sheet . Stat Sheet

• I watched this game on tape after watching Team Canada's World Junior Hockey game. After seeing the intensity and emotion of the Team Canada game, man, was this game ever boring. The temptation is to call this game a good game, thanks to the Canucks win. However, the win simply masked the fact that the team once again played with little emotion.
• That said, I'm extremely grateful for the two points.
• The Westcoast Express played a marginably better game last night than on Wednesday. For a couple of shifts, Naslund and Bertuzzi were actually forces to be reckoned with. One shift, in particular, stood out when they kept the puck in the Chicago zone for what seemed like a full minute and created several scoring opportunities.
• Speaking of forces to be reckoned with, Jarkko Ruutu was one last night. One penalty shot, one goal, two shots, two hits in 15:55 minutes of ice-time. He was on the ice more than Bertuzzi (14:51).
• For the second consecutive game, I thought Kesler, Burrows and Cooke made the most of their shifts. They played a scrappy game all night and combined for seven hits. Burrows was rewarded for his hustle with a penalty shot in the third period.
• Since coming back from injury, I thought Nolan Baumgartner has raised his play quite nicely. Especially in Ed Jovanovski's absence, Baumer has filled in admirably and has at least shown that he can handle some extended minutes.