Canucks 6, Blackhawks 2
Captain Henrik Sedin collected a goal and three assists as the Vancouver Canucks converted five of their six power-play opportunities to breeze to a 6-2 road triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Daniel Sedin scored a goal and set up two others and struggling David Booth and defenseman Dan Hamhuis recorded a goal and an assist apiece for Vancouver, which eliminated Chicago in seven games during last season's spirited Western Conference quarterfinals series.
For their part, the Blackhawks had bounced the Canucks in the conference semifinals in both 2009 and 2010. All told, the teams have split 32 meetings since the start of the 2008-09 season.
Sidelined since the preseason with a broken finger, defenseman Aaron Rome snapped a 1-1 tie with a blast from the point just 76 seconds into the second period. Henrik Sedin then set up his twin brother 2:24 later before assisting on tallies by Jannik Hansen and Hamhuis to cap the four-goal session.
Henrik Sedin completed Vancouver's dominance with the man advantage by backhanding the puck past Corey Crawford midway through the third period.
Michael Frolik wristed a soft goal past Vezina Trophy finalist Roberto Luongo and rookie Marcus Kruger also scored for Central Division-leading Chicago, which fell to 5-1-2 at the United Center this season.
Luongo finished with 38 saves.