Last season’s Stanley Cup winners Chicago were knocked out of the NHL playoffs on Tuesday after Vancouver beat the Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime in Game Seven.
Alexandre Burrows scored twice as the Canucks finally got the win they needed after racing to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series only to be pegged back to 3-3 by Chicago.
In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers advanced to the second round with a 5-2 win over Buffalo in Game Seven, while Montreal and Boston will meet for a decider after the Habs beat the Bruins 2-1.
Photo: AFP
Burrows’ slap shot at 5:22 in the extra period allowed the Canucks to breathe a sigh of relief and close out the best-of-seven matchup 4-3. Chicago had eliminated the Canucks from the playoffs for the past two years.
“It means a lot,” Vancouver winger Daniel Sedin told reporters. “This is what we play for all season. We stuck with it and it was great to see [Burrows] get the winning goal.”
Vancouver had been on the verge of winning in regulation following Burrows’ goal early in the first period, but Chicago’s Jonathan Toews came up with a short-handed, sprawling wrist shot that tied the game 1-1 with less than two minutes left.
Canucks’ netminder Roberto Luongo returned to form, with 31 saves after he had been pulled from two playoff contests and did not start in Game Six.
Chicago goalie Corey Crawford was every bit as impressive, with 36 saves including a stop on a Burrows penalty shot.
The Blackhawks, who did not qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the regular season, were trying to become just the fourth NHL team to come from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven series.
Philadelphia, the second seeds in the East, held the visiting Sabres to just two shots in the first period and had built a 4-0 lead early in the third.
On the brink of elimination on Sunday, when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win in overtime and square the best-of-seven series, the Flyers got goals from Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino and Daniel Carcillo.
Tyler Myers and Brad Boyes scored for Buffalo, who welcomed back center Derek Roy after he suffered torn quadriceps on Dec. 23.
In Montreal, goaltender Carey Price made 31 saves as the Canadiens forced a Game Seven against Boston with a 2-1 win.
Montreal’s Michael Cammalleri opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period and Boston’s Dennis Seidenberg tied it 48 seconds into the second before Brian Gionta scored the winner five minutes later.
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