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     When it comes to Hockey I am a firm believer that the most important stat in a game is shots on goal. Shots on goal tells you which team was the aggressor, and how well the goaltenders played. When shots on goal is divided by period, you’ll find out who had the momentum. Shots on goal by period tells you the story of what is happening in the Blackhawks/Canucks series.

     That stat tells you how the Canucks play well for the first two periods before the Hawks control the third period. In the First two periods, both teams are even with 45 shots on goal. However, the Blackhawks have outshoot the Canucks in the Third Period by 17 shots on goal. In Game 1, the Canucks started the game by leading 5-0 after two periods, compared to the Canucks leading the Hawks 2-1 after two periods in Game 2.

     The difference in the first two games of the series was goaltending. Antti Niemi had a much better game in Game 2 than in Game 1. In Game 1, Niemi was pulled by Joel Quennevielle after giving 5 goals after the first 2 periods. In Game 2 Niemi kept the Hawks in the game with the help of Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, and Nicholas Hjalmarsson whom combined have a plus/minus of 9. And where Luongo was comfortable in Game 1 with the 5 goal lead, he was not comfortable in Game 2. The Blackhawks kept the pressure on in the third period of Game 2, that made Luongo buckle under the pressure.

     So what shots on goal by period is saying about this series, is that the Blackhawks are playing 60 minute hockey, while the Canucks are playing 40 minutes. If this trend continues in Vancouver, it will come down to Niemi’s ability to withstand the onslaught of the Canucks putting offensive pressure on the Blackhawks. If Antti Niemi doesn’t contain the Canucks, the Canucks could win this series. And the winner of the Blackhawks/Canucks series could end up playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.