Niemi, Byfuglien Propel Hawks to Victory

Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images

By Taha Ahsan

Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada- In a game in which the canucks started off with a fiery of momentum fed by a raucous crowed  at GM Place , Anti Niemi withstood the early surge and propelled the Hawks to a 5-2 victory. Niemi was masterful , stopping 31 out of the 33 shots he faced. Even when momentum seemed to be going  the Canucks way , it was Niemi that kept the game close by not allowing the Canucks any put backs off rebounds.  Niemi was not alone in the effort. The hawks defense, led by Duncan Keith and Bent Seabrook were all over the place. The defense of the hawks had 16 blocks off Canuck shots. The defense was so good that the usually cool Daniel Sedin seemed to have lost his composure.

On the  offensive end, the night belonged to Dustin byfuglien. The Hawks Right winger was a major thorn in the side of Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. Byfuglien scored 3 times off Luongo rebounds and parked his massive 6’4, 257 lbs. frame right in front of the Canuck net minder.

The most concerning thing for Canuck fans is that it seemed as though the Canucks have become unglued and rattled. The Canucks had 10 penalties and were trying to play a very physical game which is different from the fast paced offensive game that they are accustomed to . How much will this affect them going into Game 4 remains to be seen, but what we do know is that it is a must win game for the Canucks and all of Canada will be hoping that the Canucks keep their composure instead of becoming the “knuckleheads” they are known to be.