Canucks: 3 takeaways from 7-5 win over the Blackhawks

Sporting a five-game winning streak, the Vancouver Canucks rang in the new decade with a clash against their biggest rival of years past. Here’s what we learned.

For a length of time during the 2010s, there wasn’t a fire that burned hotter than the rivalry that was once set ablaze between the Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks. These two Western Conference juggernauts  did not like one another. The hatred was real.

Three years, three straight meetings in the playoffs — this only added fueled the fire, but it made for some of the best hockey games of the decade. Since then, the pure hatred between the two clubs has cooled off some, but the coals remain hot.

With the puck dropping in Vancouver, 2020 hockey was underway. A tight Western Conference — from top to bottom–  was bound to rekindle an old rivalry. The Canucks walked into the new decade having won their last five games. They made it six in a row, and having done so against the Blackhawks was the perfect way to start the new year.

The Canucks would have to come to battle fully loaded if they wanted to beat the decade’s leading scorer, Patrick Kane. Head coach, Travis Green confidently turned to Elias Pettersson to lead the team into war. After all, Pettersson has the arsenal to become one of the next decade’s best players. Here’s what we learned.