Canucks 3, Blackhawks 4 (SO): Hansen's elbow, Schneider's glove and holy crap Chicago's good this year

Post-game articles are not our forté at BTD (which I'm sure you could have gleaned from this article appearing two days after the fact).  But when you're a Canucks fan, games against the Blackhawks have this capacity for obsessive brooding, especially after a shootout loss. 

So for my own cathartic purpoes, three quick rambling thoughts I wanted to unload before tonight's contest against Dallas:

1. As always, opinions are split over the Hansen suspension.  For the record, one game seems to be fair.  But that depends on what sort of context you put that in.  If we're talking in terms of simply deterring headshots and looking at the fact that Hansen did indeed extend a forearm, bordering on elbow, at Hossa's head, then yah.. he deserves the game.  Alternatively, if we're putting this in the context of other recent suspensions in the league, Devin Setoguchi's cross-check to the face of Kyle Quincey seems significantly more blatant than Hansen's offence.  But the Wild forward was dealt with nothing more than the maximum-allowable fine.  I absolutely hate to say it, but I wonder what Setoguchi would have received if that was a cross-check to Hossa's face and not a bottom-four defenceman.

2. Given how badly they were outplayed in regulation, it is absolutely astouding to think that if not for either goalie's gloves getting in the way, the Canucks could have escaped Chicago with two points.  But looking back at Schneider's glove-hand gaffe in the shootout, it's also somewhat of a shame that he could not have established some measure of revenge against Kane for absolutely embarassing him in this Swiss shootout back in December:



On a side note, as a half-Italian, it's strange, but really quite nice to hear hockey play-by-play in my dad's native language.  To translate, that was: "Kane, Kane, Kane, against Schneider...Kane scores."  Sadly, if it's not soccer, my people have no imagination.

3. Lastly, I'm not gonna say anything that nobody already knows, but the Blackhawks are scary good this year.  It's worth reiterating, because if the Canucks are going to make it anywhere in the playoffs this year, it appears that they're gonna have to go through Chicago once more. And the fact that they appear better than they ever have in this current five-year rivalry, is well, again.. just plain scary.

So to review, that's I do and don't think Hansen deserved a game, Italians shouldn't call hockey and you should really just not like the Blackhawks.

-HC