Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, whom Canucks coach Alain Vigneault described as “the second-best goaltender on the ice” after Game 4, decided to get rid of his playoff beard.
The Hawks host the Canucks in Game 5 Sunday night at the United Center. The Hawks lead the Western Conference semifinal series 3-1 and can advance to their second consecutive conference finals with a win.
“Trying to change things up a bit,” Luongo told the Canadian Press before the Canucks left for Chicago. (See the clean-shaven Luongo HERE.)
The Canucks have to do something after the Hawks pummeled them in two straight games. They made lineup changes in Game 4, a 7-4 loss.
Vocal defenseman Shane O’Brien summed up the Canucks’ mindset this way, telling reporters: “We have to lay it all on the line. We have nothing to lose now. … We are in a situation where probably nobody thinks we can come back; the odds are we probably can’t. We are going to give it our best go.”
The Hawks, on the other hand, are trying to fend off being over-confident.
“We have to realize that things can turn around pretty quickly,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “We don’t want to give them confidence or the hope that they can come back in the series. So it’s all about our work ethic and how we prepare for [Sunday].”
